EDITION    OF  THE 
FAMOUS    STORV  BY 

RET  HARTE 

PHOTO  JPJLAY  EDITION 


LIBRARY 

UNI.- 


SAN  DIEGO 


SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 


(Page  48) 
HER   WAY   LAY  THROUGH   THE    FOREST   OF   GIANT  TREES 

Beatriz  Michflena  as  Salotny  Jane 


SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 
Photo -Play  Edition 


REVISED  AND  ELABORATED  VERSION 

OF  THE  FAMOUS  STORY 

BY 

BRET    HARTE 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,    1898,    BY    BRET   HARTE 

COPYRIGHT,    IQOO,    BY    HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN    *   CO. 
COPYRIGHT,    1910,    BY   HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN   COMPANY 
COPYRIGHT,    1915,    BY   HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

ALL    RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE 

THE  photo-play  drama  of  "  Salomy  Jane's 
Kiss"  was  based  upon  Paul  Armstrong's 
dramatized  version  of  Bret  Harte's  story, 
one  of  the  most  popular  of  all  the  tales  told 
by  this  greatest  writer  of  the  pioneer  days 
in  California.  Many  incidents  are  intro 
duced  which  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
original  version.  In  amplifying  the  story, 
the  photo-play  has  been  followed  closely, 
and  the  reader  will  find  in  the  book  some 
of  the  characters  so  familiar  to  lovers  of 
Bret  Harte,  such  as  Mr.  Jack  Hamlin, 
Colonel  Starbottle,  and  Yuba  Bill.  There 
has  been  no  attempt  to  follow  the  dramatic 
version  of  Mr.  Paul  Armstrong. 

The  illustrations  are  reproduced  from 
photographs  of  the  photo-play,  taken  in 
the  famous  California  redwoods,  and  used 
in  the  book  through  the  kind  permission  of 
the  California  Motion  Picture  Corporation. 


CONTENTS 

I.  THE  PIONEERS 3 

II.  A  NEW  HOME  AND  AN  OLD  STORY   .  15 

III.  A  HELPFUL  SUITOR 26 

IV.  THE  STRANGER 34 

V.  TROUBLE  BREWING 43 

VI.  THE  HOLD-UP 59 

VII.  A  LADY'S  COMMAND        ....     70 

VIII.  THE  VIGILANTES 86 

IX.  AN  ERRANT  BRACELET    ....  100 

X.  TRAPPED 115 

XI.  A  Kiss  AND  AN  ESCAPE        .      .      .123 
XII.  SALOMY'S  REFLECTIONS    ....  134 

XIII.    THE    KlSS    REPEATED  .         .         .         .14! 

XIV.  ANOTHER  ESCAPE 155 

XV.  INTO  THE  FUTURE 167 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

HER   WAY    LAY   THROUGH   THE    FOREST   OF 
GIANT  TREES  (page  48)    .       .       .  Frontispiece 
Beatriz  Michelena  as  Salomy  Jane 

IT      HAD      BEEN     A      DAY     OF     TRIUMPH      FOR 

COLONEL  STARBOTTLE       16 

COLONEL  CULPEPPER  STARBOTTLE  .     18 

"YES,   WE   COME   FROM    K.AINTUCKY,"   SAID 
SALOMY  JANE 22 

WAS  THIS,  AFTER  ALL,  THE  MAN?   ...     42 

AT  RED  PETE'S  HOUSE 48 

YUBA  BILL  ON  THE  Box 60 

THE    SCORN    IN   THE   GIRL'S    EYES    FLAYED 
HIM 76 

THE  STRANGER  IN  SEARCH  OF  FOWLER  .       .     78 

THE  VIGILANTES  SWUNG  ALONG  THE  ROAD 
TO  THE  SOUTH 98 

"TELL  us  JEST  ONE  FAIRY  TALE,   S'LOMY"  106 
THE  Kiss  .  128 


x  ILLUSTRATIONS 

"You  JUST  LIE  LOW,  DAD,  FOR  A  DAY  OR 
TWO" 144 

IT  WAS    THE    STRANGER  —  THE    MAN    SHE 
HAD  KISSED 146 

"QUICK!  QUICK!"  SAID  SALOMY  HOARSELY. 
"THEY'RE  COMIN'" 174 


From  Photographs  supplied  by  the  California 
Motion  Picture  Corporation 


SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 


SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  PIONEERS 

THE  grind  and  rattle  of  heavy  wheels 
crunching  the  brittle  ground  under  the 
white-topped  wagons ;  the  creak  of  the  har 
ness;  the  crack  of  the  long  whips  over  the 
horses'  heads ;  the  shouted  imprecations  and 
coaxings  of  the  drivers,  as  the  wagons 
lurched  and  rolled  along  the  rocky  road  - 
all  these  sounds  were  borne  ahead  on  the 
fresh  morning  breeze  to  a  young  girl  sitting 
a  white  horse  with  true  Kentucky  grace. 

The  train,  consisting  of  two  large  prairie 
wagons  and  several  led  horses,  belonged  to 
Madison  Clay,  late  of  Kentucky,  whose 
middle-aged  figure  jolted  this  way  and  that 
on  the  seat  of  the  foremost  wagon  as  he 
guided  his  horses  along  the  uneven  grade 


4  SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

of  the  Sierra  slope.  He  urged  his  animals 
with  a  vehemence  and  vigor  which  belied 
his  white  hair. 

"S'lomy!  S'lomy  Jane,"  he  called,  bring 
ing  his  team  to  a  halt,  and  cupping  his 
mouth  with  his  hands  so  that  his  voice 
might  carry.  The  girl  ahead  turned  her 
horse,  and  cantered  back  to  her  father. 

A  lithe,  supple  young  figure  she  was; 
straight  and  vigorous,  with  head  held  high, 
her  tumbled  brown  curls  dancing  in  the 
breeze. 

"What  is  it,  Dad?"  she  drawled,  and 
drew  up  her  horse  beside  him. 

" Thought  as  how  we'd  better  stop  and 
have  dinner,"  her  father  said. 

"Oh,  I  dunno,  Dad,"  she  demurred. 
"  Reckon  we  might  strike  water  if  we  keep 
on  a  little  farther.  S'posin'  I  go  on  and  try 
my  luck." 

The  old  man  nodded  his  assent,  and 
gathering  up  the  reins,  urged  the  tired  ani 
mals  forward. 


THE  PIONEERS  5 

Months  before,  Madison  Clay  had  heard 
of  the  wonderful  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali 
fornia.  He  considered  himself  too  old  to 
join  in  the  mad  rush  across  the  continent 
in  search  of  the  yellow  metal,  but  along  with 
the  tales  of  sudden  wealth  came  also  stories 
of  the  fair  pasture  lands,  and  the  golden 
opportunities  for  cattle-raising.  For  weeks 
he  had  pondered  over  it,  hesitating  to  give 
up  the  home  of  his  fathers  for  the  uncer 
tainties  of  this  new  country.  In  the  end, 
however,  Salomy  had  settled  the  matter, 
if  somewhat  indirectly. 

The  Clays  and  another  family,  the  Lar- 
rabees,  had  been  enemies  in  an  old  feud 
which  had  extended  over  several  genera 
tions.  The  bitterness,  though  smouldering, 
was  just  as  acute  between  Madison  Clay 
and  Bill  Larrabee  as  it  had  been  between 
their  great-grandfathers.  Each  man  had 
but  one  child;  Larrabee  a  son,  "Ched," 
and  Madison  Clay  a  daughter,  Salomy 
Jane.  By  a  trick  of  fate,  Ched  Larrabee 


6  SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

had  developed  a  "sneakin'  regard"  for  Sa- 
lomy,  but  that  young  lady  ignored  his  ad 
vances,  and  snubbed  him  on  every  possible 
occasion,  much  to  her  father's  satisfac 
tion,  and  to  the  disgust  of  the  elder  Lar- 
rabee. 

The  climax  came  one  night,  when,  re 
turning  from  a  quilting-bee  at  which  the 
raw  "moonshiners'"  whiskey  had  been  all 
too  plentiful,  Ched  met  Salomy  Jane,  and 
attempted  to  kiss  her.  When  she  told  her 
father  of  it,  the  old  man,  in  a  rage,  swore 
that  he  would  kill  Ched  Larrabee.  The 
next  morning  he  fired  upon  him  as  the 
young  man  was  riding  by,  and  the  incident 
put  the  small  village  in  an  uproar.  It  was 
just  enough  to  bring  all  the  latent  hatred 
in  both  families  to  the  surface. 

Luckily  for  Clay,  all  the  male  members 
of  the  Larrabee  family  were  away  on  a  pro 
tracted  hunting  expedition,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  Ched.  Whether  from  cowardice 
or  from  regard  for  the  years  of  the  older 


THE  PIONEERS  7 

man,  the  boy  did  not  retaliate,  and  when 
Clay  had  cooled  down,  he  decided  that  it  was 
the  best  possible  time,  if  ever,  to  move  to 
California.  The  idea  met  with  instant  favor 
from  Salomy.  Arranging  with  a  kinsman  to 
have  his  farm  sold,  Clay  hastened  to  pro 
cure  two  prairie  wagons,  spacious  and 
fairly  comfortable.  These  were  hurriedly 
stocked,  and  on  a  sunny  morning,  Salomy 
Jane  sprang  into  the  saddle,  Madison  Clay 
to  the  seat  of  the  first  wagon,  and  a  young 
cousin,  Joe,  gathered  up  the  reins  in  the 
second.  With  a  great  waving  of  hands  and 
shouting  of  good-byes,  the  cavalcade  moved 
off,  leaving  behind  their  home  in  the  Ken 
tucky  hills. 

They  had  been  traveling  for  weeks. 
Starting  off,  with  only  the  idea  of  reaching 
California  in  mind,  they  had  since  settled 
on,  as  their  destination,  Hangtown  in  the 
Sierras,  the  most  notoriously  celebrated  of 
the  many  mining-camps  that  had  sprung 
up,  overnight,  in  the  mad  rush  for  gold.  In 


8  SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

the  last  week  every  one  they  had  met  had 
asked  them  if  they  were  "headed  for" 
Hangtown.  That  seemed  to  be  the  Mecca 
for  all  travelers,  so  at  length,  instead  of 
answering  "Dunno"  to  the  question,  Madi 
son  had  come  to  answer  "Yes." 

The  hardest  part  of  the  long  journey  had 
been  the  hot,  breathless  days  crossing  the 
plains  of  the  Middle  West,  and  it  was  a 
relief  to  have  reached  the  foothills  of  the 
Sierras.  They  could  not  be  far  from  their 
journey's  end  now,  thought  the  girl.  Her 
tired  eyes  sparkled  with  their  wonted 
brightness  at  the  prospect  of  reaching 
Hangtown  soon,  and  she  spurred  her  horse 
forward,  patting  his  neck  affectionately. 
He  sniffed  and  threw  up  his  head;  "water 
ahead  "  his  nose  told  him,  and  breaking  into 
a  gallop,  they  came  in  a  few  minutes  to  a 
rushing  little  stream. 

Giving  him  a  moment  in  which  to  drink, 
Salomy  surveyed  the  stream,  wondering  at 
which  point  they  might  be  able  to  ford  it. 


THE  PIONEERS  9 

Then  she  wheeled  and  galloped  back  to  the 
first  wagon. 

"Stream  ahead,  Dad,"  she  called.  "Yer 
better  slow  up." 

The  brakes  went  on  with  a  nerve-racking 
screech. 

"All  right,  S'lomy.  You  go  on  ag'in, 
and  we'll  foller  yer,"  her  father  answered. 
Then,  leaning  far  out  of  his  seat,  he  called 
the  warning  to  the  tired  boy  in  the  wagon 
behind.  The  horses,  glad  of  the  respite, 
slowed  down  to  a  walk,  and,  following  the 
white  horse,  came  in  a  few  minutes  to  the 
stream. 

They  had  been  traveling  steadily  for  six 
hours,  and  Salomy  slipped  out  of  the  saddle, 
and  sank  onto  the  cool  green  grass. 

"Let's  stop  here  for  a  snack,  Dad,"  she 
suggested.  "We're  not  likely  to  find  as  cool 
a  spot  as  this  later  on,  and  I  'm  gettin'  hun 
gry.  What  about  you,  Joe?"  she  called  to 
the  boy,  who  was  already  wading  with  bare 
feet  in  the  limpid  water. 


io          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"Oh,  I'm  allus  ready  to  eat,  S'lomy. 
Come  on  and  take  your  shoes  and  stockin's 
off,  too,  fer  a  minute.  You,  too,  Uncle 
Mad,"  he  invited. 

Madison  was  too  comfortably  settled 
in  the  shade  of  one  of  the  giant  redwoods 
to  be  allured  by  the  prospect,  but  Salomy 
welcomed  the  suggestion  with  glee,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  she  and  the  boy  were  splash 
ing  about,  making  the  quiet  spot  ring  with 
their  laughter.  Finally,  she  ended  the  fun 
with  a  reminder  that  they  must  eat  their 
midday  meal,  and  be  on  the  road  once 
more. 

When  their  few  utensils  were  again 
packed  away,  Salomy  sprang  into  the  sad 
dle,  and  urged  her  horse  into  the  stream. 
For  a  moment  he  hesitated.  Then  he  took 
the  water  gallantly,  and,  finding  the  ford, 
began  to  swim  for  the  other  side.  Clay 
whipped  up  his  horses,  and  the  first  wagon, 
followed  by  Joe's,  splashed  into  the  stream. 
One  by  one  they  gained  the  other  side,  the 


THE  PIONEERS  n 

horses  stamping  and  shaking  and  snorting. 
After  a  few  moments'  rest  the  train  moved 
on. 

The  road  was  a  clear  stretch  ahead,  and 
Salomy  walked  her  horse  beside  her  father. 

"Tired,  Dad?"  she  inquired. 

"Not  so  much,  Salomy.  You  and  Joe '11 
be  all  wore  out,  though,  gal,  when  we  git  to 
the  end." 

"I  don't  care.  It'll  be  good  to  git  to  a 
place  where  them  durned  Larrabees  are 
among  the  missin'.  How  much  further  do 
you  reckon  we've  got  to  go,  Dad?" 

"They  told  us  this  mornin'  that  we 
ought  to  be  there  by  noon.  Seems  like  we 
oughter  be  gittin'  thar  right  soon." 

The  conversation  lagged,  and  they  rode 
along  in  silence.  Suddenly,  Salomy  straight 
ened  up  in  her  saddle.  Down  the  trail  she 
could  discern  a  man  on  horseback,  riding 
toward  them.  He  reined  in  as  he  drew  near, 
and  greeted  them  in  the  laconic  vernacular 
of  the  country. 


12         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"Howdy." 

"Howdy,"  Clay  replied.  "Kin  you  tell 
us  how  fur  we  are  from  Hangtown?" 

1  'T  ain't  more  'n  five  miles,  now.  Is 
that  whar  you're  headed  for?  What's  your 
name?" 

"Madison  Clay.  We  come  from  Kain- 
tucky.  We  cal'late  to  settle  down  in  Hang- 
town.  Be  you  from  thar?" 

The  man  shook  his  head. 

"No.  I'm  hittin'  the  trail  for  Three 
Forks.  Gold  or  cattle-raisin'  ? "  he  asked  as 
a  final  question. 

"Cattle-raisin',  I  guess.  Too  old  for  the 
gold  fever,  I  be,"  said  Madison. 

The  stranger  removed  his  hat,  and 
scratched  his  head. 

"I  dunno  as  you  be.  I  seen  older 'n  you 
diggin'  around  for  the  dust.  Never  could 
make  out  why  they  wanted  gold,  when  they 
were  along  in  years.  Oughter  leave  it  to  the 
young  fellers,  I  say."  He  replaced  his  hat, 
and  jerked  up  his  trousers. 


THE  PIONEERS  13 

"Wall,  I'll  be  meanderin'  along.  You 
folks  '11  git  to  Hangtown  afore  the  stage  if 
yer  push  on  right  smart.  So  long." 

A  touch  of  the  spur  to  his  sensitive  horse, 
and  he  was  gone.  Salomy  smiled  at  her 
father. 

"Come  on,  Dad.  Only  five  miles  more. 
We'll  sleep  there  to-night,  they  all  say." 

The  prospect  put  new  life  into  the  tired 
group.  Joe  began  to  sing  at  the  top  of  his 
lusty  young  lungs,  accompanying  himself 
by  cracking  the  whip  in  time  to  his  melody, 
and  the  wagons  moved  on  again.  They 
trundled  along,  now  sinking  in  a  road,  white 
and  dusty  in  the  sunshine;  now  through 
cool  forest  aisles,  winding  among  the  giant 
redwoods.  Emerging  from  the  forest,  they 
reached  the  crest  of  a  hill,  and  looking  about 
them,  they  could  see  a  straggling  settlement 
of  rude  shacks,  nestling  below  them  in  the 
valley.  Salomy  pointed  to  them. 

"I  reckon  as  how  that's  Hangtown,  Dad. 
Somehow  't  ain't  like  I  thought  it'd  be," 


i4          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

she  said  with  thinly  veiled  disappoint 
ment. 

"What'd  you  expect,  S'lomy?"  Joe 
piped  up.  "Somethin'  like  the  Promised 
Land,  with  gold'n  towers  and  sich?  Yer 
oughter  think  yer  mighty  lucky  to  be  here ; 
we  did  n't  meet  no  Indians  or  sich,  did  we, 
Uncle  Mad?  We  got  a  lot  to  be  thankful 
for." 

"Oh,  shut  up,  Joe,"  snapped  Salomy. 
"You  talk  too  much  for  a  youngster.  I'm 
thankful  we're  here,  same  as  you  be,  but 
thar  ain  't  no  call  to  hold  a  prayer  meetin' 
on  the  spot.  Come  on." 


CHAPTER  II 

A  NEW  HOME  AND  AN  OLD  STORY 

IT  had  been  a  day  of  triumph  for  Colonel 
Starbottle.  First  for  his  personality,  as  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  separate  the 
Colonel's  achievements  from  his  individu 
ality;  second  for  his  oratorical  abilities  as 
a  sympathetic  pleader;  and  third  for  his 
functions  as  the  leading  legal  counsel.  On 
his  strictly  legal  performances  in  this  issue 
it  may  be  best  not  to  speak;  there  were 
those  who  denied  them,  although  the  jury 
had  accepted  them  in  the  face  of  the  ruling 
of  the  half-amused,  half-cynical  judge  him 
self.  For  an  hour  they  had  laughed  with  the 
Colonel,  wept  with  him ;  then  stirred  to  per 
sonal  indignation  or  patriotic  exaltation  by 
his  passionate  and  lofty  periods,  what  else 
could  they  do  than  give  him  their  verdict  ? 
If  it  was  alleged  by  some  that  the  American 


1 6          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

eagle,  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  the  Resolu 
tions  of  '98  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with 
the  contest  over  a  doubtfully  worded  legis 
lative  document;  that  wholesale  abuse  of 
the  State  Attorney  and  his  political  mo 
tives  had  not  the  slightest  connection  with 
the  legal  question  raised,  —  it  was,  never 
theless,  generally  accepted  that  the  losing 
party  would  have  been  only  too  glad  to  have 
the  Colonel  on  their  side,  and  Colonel  Star- 
bottle  knew  this  as  perspiring,  florid,  and 
panting,  he  rebuttoned  the  lower  buttons 
of  his  blue  frock-coat,  which  had  become 
loosened  in  an  oratorical  spasm,  and  re 
adjusted  his  old-fashioned,  spotless  shirt 
frill  above  it  as  he  strutted  from  the  court 
room  amidst  the  handshakings  and  ac 
clamations  of  his  friends. 

And  here  an  unprecedented  thing  oc 
curred.  The  Colonel  absolutely  declined 
spirituous  refreshment  at  the  neighboring 
saloon,  and  made  his  way  to  the  stables, 
where  he  procured  conveyance  to  Hang- 


A  NEW  HOME  17 

town,  arriving  some  little  time  before  Yuba 
Bill  and  the  stage  were  due. 

Before  proceeding  to  his  office,  pride  bent 
his  steps  toward  the  general  store,  where  by 
chance  he  arrived  just  as  the  Clays,  with 
Salomy  astride  the  white  mare,  drew  up. 

Madison  Clay  had  just  clambered  down 
from  his  uncomfortable  seat  and  was  ac 
costing  Jack  Hamlin,  who  could  always  be 
counted  on  to  do  the  honors  of  welcoming 
host,  when  Colonel  Starbottle  caught  the 
full  round  accent  which  marked  the  native 
of  his  home  State. 

"Excuse  me,  sah,"  broke  in  the  Colonel. 
"Excuse  me,  but  am  I  right  in  my  conjec 
ture  that  you  belong  to  the  Blue  Grass 
region?  If  so,  sah,  permit  me  to  bid  you 
welcome.  My  name  is  Starbottle,  Colonel 
Culpepper  Starbottle,  formerly  of  Shelby- 
ville."  And  the  Colonel,  removing  his  tall 
gray  hat,  embraced  both  father  and  daughter 
in  his  profound  bow. 

"Right  glad  to  meet  up  with  you,  sah," 


1 8          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

replied  Clay,  with  unusual  warmth  for  him. 
"I  am  told  this  is  a  likely  country  and  I 
want  ter  find  some  one  who  '11  show  me  the 
best  place  to  locate,"  he  added  by  way  of 
explanation. 

"Well  met,  sah,"  the  Colonel  hastened 
to  add.  "We  are  both  in  good  luck,  as  I 
have  just  returned  from  Wingdam,  where 
I  have  been  for  a  few  days  on  a  matter  of 
legal  importance.  Ef  you  will  honor  me 
with  a  call  at  my  office  over  yonder,  I  feel 
reasonably  sure,  sah,  that  I  can  satisfy  you, 
for  beside  my  profession,  which  is  the  law, 
Mr.  —  er--Mr.—  " 

"Madison  Clay's  my  name,"  interposed 
Clay. 

"Mr.  Clay,  sah,  I  handle  real  estate  for 
the  surrounding  country.  Your  daughter, 
I  see,  is  already  occupied,  so  per'aps  we 
may  leave  her  for  the  moment."  So  say 
ing,  the  Colonel,  ceremoniously  placing  his 
arm  through  that  of  his  companion,  led  the 
way  across  the  road  to  the  somewhat  dilap- 


COLONEL   CULPEPPER   STARBOTTLE 


A  NEW  HOME  19 

idated  building  which  served  him  as  office 
and  temporary  home. 

Meanwhile,  Salomy  Jane  was  the  recipient 
of  a  welcome  equally  warm,  but  necessarily 
guarded  by  the  dictates  of  a  decorum  which 
Mr.  Jack  Hamlin  invariably  imposed  not 
only  upon  himself,  but  upon  all  men  in  the 
presence  of  ladies.  Audacious  and  self-con 
fident,  few  men  cared  to  stand  in  the  way  of 
his  pocket  derringer,  his  constant  compan 
ion,  while  all  were  in  awe  of  his  command 
of  English.  In  short,  Gentleman  Jack  was 
at  once  the  idol  and  the  prophet  of  the 
Sierras  and  a  hero  with  the  fair  sex.  It  was 
therefore  natural  that  he  should  be  the  first 
to  approach  Salomy,  who,  still  perching  se 
curely  in  the  saddle,  stroked  the  drooping 
neck  of  her  jaded  mare,  and  viewed  the 
motley  group  of  men  before  her  with  un 
concern,  chewing  sturdily  on  a  piece  of  well- 
worn  and  thoroughly  devitalized  gum. 

"Miss  Clay,  I  believe  I  caught  the  name, 
permit  me  to  offer  you  a  welcome  to  our 


20         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

country  and  to  hope  that  you  and  your 
father  intend  to  locate  near  by,"  said  Ham 
lin,  removing  his  glistening  silk  hat,  reveal 
ing  in  the  sunlight  a  handsome,  clear-cut 
face  topped  with  dark  shining  hair,  evenly 
parted.  His  figure  was  tall,  well  formed,  and 
supple,  and  he  was  dressed  immaculately  in 
a  frock-suit  which  gave  the  appearance  of 
just  having  come  from  the  tailor's. 

"Thanks,"  replied  Salomy,  eyeing  him 
indifferently. 

Unabashed,  Hamlin  continued  easily. 
"You  must  be  tired,  and  as  your  father  is 
apt  to  be  some  little  time  with  Colonel 
Starbottle,  perhaps  you  would  like  to  dis 
mount.  May  I  help  you?" 

Again  the  syllabic  "Thanks"  was  re 
peated,  as  Salomy  slid  to  the  ground  unas 
sisted. 

"Let  me  introduce  my  good  friends,  Ash- 
ton  Fowler,  Rube  Waters,  Phil  Larrabee, 
and  Andy  Bartlett,"  continued  Hamlin,  in 
dicating  each  as  he  called  their  names,  and 


A  NEW  HOME  21 

then,  offering  a  chair  which  stood  close  to 
the  door,  he  called  mischievously,  "Kitty, 
Kitty,  —  new  arrivals  and  a  worthy  com 
petitor  to  you.'* 

There  was  an  interval  of  silence  before  a 
young  woman  of  certain  attraction  and  un 
certain  manners  appeared  at  the  open  door, 
and,  pointing  laughingly  at  Hamlin,  said,— 

"Another  conquest  for  you,  you  shy,  re 
tiring  creature."  There  was  a  general  laugh 
in  which  Salomy  joined,  while  the  other 
woman  approached  and  held  out  her  hand, 
man  fashion,  for  the  "shake"  of  welcome 
which  this  free-living  country,  God's  own 
country  they  claimed  it,  engendered. 

Fowler,  who  had  remained  quiet,  his  eyes 
steadily  fixed  upon  Salomy,  relaxed  his 
attitude  of  attention  and  interposed. 

"  Perhaps  Miss  Clay  will  tell  us  where  she 
comes  from.  I  judged  from  the  Colonel's 
form  of  welcome  that  you  are  from  Ken 
tucky,  and  if  so,  I  can  only  say  that  its 
horses  make  a  poor  second  to  its  ladies." 


22          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"Its  horses  are  good  enough,  I  reckon," 
said  the  girl,  ignoring  the  compliment. 
"Thet  thar  mare  carried  me  all  the  way 
a'thout  so  much  as  a  whinny,"  indicating 
the  white  horse  with  a  jerk  of  her  head 
which  brought  into  play  the  wealth  of  curls 
carelessly  caught  together  with  a  brown 
ribbon. 

"Yes,  we  come  from  Kaintucky,"  she 
continued;  "mebbe  yer  know  some  folks 
thar." 

"N — no,"  replied  Fowler,  slowly,  his 
eyes  taking  in  the  group.  "I've  heard  so 
much  about  Culpepper  and  Shelbyville  and 
the  Blue  Grass  from  the  Colonel  that  I  feel 
as  if  I  might  recognize  it  when  I  saw  it." 

"He  don't  seem  to  know  any  place  in  the 
East,  though  he  come  from  thar,"  broke  in 
Rube  Waters,  a  silent,  callow  youth  of 
fairly  pleasing  appearance,  and  a  noncom 
mittal  manner  which  might  be  taken  to 
indicate  a  lack  of  self-confidence  or  the  pos 
session  of  a  jealous  disposition. 


A  NEW  HOME  23 

"Come,  no  inquisition,"  interposed  Ham- 
lin;  "we  like  to  see  folks  here.  This  is  a  free 
country;  no  questions  asked;  help  your 
selves;  only  stay  on  your  own  side  of  the 
fence;  those  are  our  principles.  I  bear  no 
man  ill-will  if  he  minds  his  own  business 
and  plays  fair  and  honors  the  ladies ;  other 
wise  he  runs  up  against  this  thing."  Here 
Jack  Hamlin  tapped  his  vest  pocket  with  an 
affectionate  gesture,  which  brought  a  smile 
to  those  who  knew  how  quickly  that  move 
ment  could  be  transformed  into  a  dangerous 
menace. 

Salomy,  outwardly  stolid  and  unrespon 
sive,  was  quickly  observant.  Her  keen  eyes 
had  taken  in  the  group  which  she  realized 
were  soon  to  be  her  nearest  neighbors  and 
she  unconsciously  compared  these  men  of 
action,  now  indolent,  lazy,  and  openly  ad 
miring,  to  those  sturdy  youths  at  home 
whose  overtures  she  had  always  met  with 
fiery  refusal.  To  her,  Man  denoted  an  an 
tagonist.  She  had  never  fallen  victim  to  love. 


24          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

A  proud,  handsome  girl  she  had  been  the 
coveted  treasure  of  many  a  youth,  but  she 
had  never  responded  to  advances  even  from 
Ched  Larrabee,  whose  courting  had  ended 
in  such  misfortune.  Perhaps  he  of  all  the 
men  had  been  most  in  her  thoughts,  but 
the  family  feud  had  interposed  to  place  him 
beyond  the  range  of  possibility.  As  these 
thoughts  passed  through  her  mind,  there 
came  the  consciousness  that  Man  was  much 
the  same  the  world  over,  and  even  Hamlin's 
handsome  figure  failed  to  arouse  a  spark 
of  interest. 

Turning,  she  saw  that  her  father  was  ap 
proaching  arm  in  arm  with  the  Colonel,  in 
much  the  same  attitude  as  they  had  left  the 
store,  and  rising  she  went  to  meet  him. 

"Well,  my  dear  young  lady,"  called  the 
Colonel,  with  his  accustomed  salute,  "I 
have  persuaded  your  father  to  examine  a 
holding  which  I  venture  to  predict  will 
please  you  both.  It  is  a  farm  to  be  proud  of, 
building  —  er  —  land,  and  —  er  —  er  —  in 


A  NEW  HOME  25 

short,  it  is  an  estate  —  er  —  a  —  gentle 
man's  estate.  I  feel  confident  that  your 
father  will  take  to  it  as  a  duck  takes  to 
water,  Miss,  and  I  suggest  that  we  proceed 
at  once,  so  that  if  it  suits,  you  may  find 
time  to  settle  before  night  falls." 

Without  more  ado,  the  colonel  clambered 
up  on  the  seat  beside  Clay  while  Salomy 
mounted  with  the  graceful  assistance  of 
Hamlin,  and  the  newcomers  took  up  their 
final  journey  amid  the  vociferous  farewells 
of  the  admiring  group  about  the  store,  in 
response  to  which,  Salomy  gave  a  casual 
wave  of  her  hand. 


CHAPTER  III 

A  HELPFUL  SUITOR 

THE  house  was  about  four  miles  distant. 
Contrasted  with  the  cabins  scattered  along 
the  road,  it  was  a  superior  dwelling,  al 
though  somewhat  out  of  repair,  with  a  long 
" lean-to"  at  the  rear,  which  brought  the 
eaves  almost  to  the  ground  and  made  it 
look  like  a  low  triangle. 

There  was  a  long  barn  with  cattle  sheds 
which  rejoiced  Clay,  for  his  intention  was  to 
raise  cattle  and  not  to  enter  the  field  as  a 
prospector. 

Assisting  his  new  clients  to  alight  with 
that  flourish  of  gallantry  which  inevitably 
attended  his  every  act  in  the  presence  of 
the  fair  sex,  Colonel  Starbottle  procured  a 
key  which  painfully  turned  a  squeaking 
lock  and  permitted  the  door  to  fall  back 
upon  its  uncertain  hinges. 


A  HELPFUL  SUITOR  27 

"Step  right  in,  Miss  —  er  —  Miss  —  er 

-  Young  Lady,  if  you  please.    I    am  de 
lighted  —  er  —  to  have  the  proud  distinc 
tion  of —  er  —  welcoming  you  to  a  home  I 
sincerely  trust  will  protect  you  for  many 
a  year,"   said  the  Colonel,  removing  his 
gray  tall  hat  with  the  characteristic  flourish 
which  had  already  become  familiar. 

"To  you,  sah,  I  can  only  add  that  the 
privilege  of  having  a  son  of  old  Kaintucky 
for  a  neighbor  will  be  a  rare  treat  to  me, 
sah,  and  I  trust  —  er  —  we  may  become 
firm  friends  as  well  as  neighbors.  I  only 
wish  that  we  might  pledge  the  thought,  - 
yes,  sah,  —  pledge  the  thought  in  the  —  er 

-  appropriate  manner,  but  that  can  wait 
until  you  are  my  guest,  Mister —  er- 
Clay,  an  honor  I  soon  hope  to  have." 

During  this  speech,  so  reminiscent  of  the 
home  days,  Salomy  had  peered  about  her, 
and  while  her  father  was  bidding  the  Colo 
nel  farewell  and  adjusting  certain  details 
regarding  the  transaction,  she  had  discov- 


28          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

ered  a  sitting-room,  already  sparsely  fur 
nished  with  a  haircloth  sofa  and  a  few 
dilapidated  chairs,  out  of  which  led  a 
comfortable  kitchen  with  stove  and  table. 
It  took  her  but  a  moment  to  scamper  up 
the  narrow  flight  of  stairs,  to  find  two  sleep 
ing-rooms,  quite  bare,  but  roomy  and  free 
from  any  smell  of  dampness.  Indeed,  the 
whole  house  was  dry  and  clean,  much  to  her 
surprise  and  delight. 

Although  weary  and  spent  with  the  hard 
ship  of  the  long  journey,  of  the  weeks  passed 
in  the  saddle  under  the  parching  sun,  of  the 
nights  in  the  close  and  ill-smelling  van,  she 
was  eager  to  have  the  house  in  order  and 
delighted  to  find  that  with  her  father  and 
Joe  was  one  of  the  younger  men  from  the 
settlement  who  had  followed,  drawn  by  her 
beauty  and  the  desire  for  closer  acquaint 
ance.  He  was  leaning  on  the  shaky  gate 
post  somewhat  moodily  puffing  on  the  re 
mains  of  a  pipe  which  had  seen  better  days. 
As  Salomy  came  from  the  porch  he  turned 


A  HELPFUL  SUITOR  29 

quickly,  and  taking  off  his  hat  with  an  air 
of  doing  so  for  the  first  time,  said  haltingly: 

"I'm  Reuben  Waters;  'member  meetin' 
me  at  ther  store?  Rube  they  call  me,  an' 
you  kin  too  ef  yer  like.  I  thought  mebbe  I 
mought  help  a  little  an'  so  I  come  along, 
but,  o'  course,  I'll  go  back  if  you  don't 
want  me." 

"You're  mighty  kind,"  replied  Salomy, 
between  the  measured  chewing  of  an  un 
usually  generous  piece  of  gum,  and,  con 
tinuing  - 

"Ef  you  was  to  bring  in  the  kitchen 
things,  I  reckon  we  could  get  a  bite  to  eat 
and  then  move  in  the  rest  with  Dad.  He's 
gettin'  acquainted  with  the  barn.  Tears 
to  me  a  likely  place.  Hev  you  bin  here 
long?" 

"  Erbout  two  years,"  gasped  Rube,  strug 
gling  with  a  load  of  pots  and  pans  which  he 
managed  to  deposit  in  the  kitchen  without 
disaster,  and  then  added  :  — 

"  I  ain't  much  of  a  farmer,  although  my 


30          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

folks  have  a  likely  herd  o'  cattle  over 
yonder.  I  bin  arter  the  gold  most  of  the 
time;  the  luck's  ag'in'  me  so  far."  With 
which,  Rube  departed  for  another  load. 

Off  and  on  during  the  afternoon  Rube 
would  pause  and  deliver  a  few  jerky  re 
marks  upon  Hangtown  and  its  elite,  and  in 
this  way  Salomy  and  her  father  gained  much 
information  about  their  new  neighbors  and 
more  especially  of  Jack  Hamlin  and  Fowler, 
who,  to  Rube,  were  types  of  humanity  gen 
erally  to  be  envied. 

To  Larrabee  he  gave  but  few  words  until 
Clay  struck  in  sharply  with  - 

"Larrabee?  Who's  he?" 

"Oh,  Phil  Larrabee  don't  amount  to 
much,"  returned  Rube,  with  the  swagger  of 
one  who  is  safe  in  the  knowledge  of  being 
free  from  contradiction.  "He's  been  out 
here  er  long  while.  Don't  do  much  but  hang 
about  the  store.  They's  quite  a  settlement 
of  'em.  Him  an'  his  half-brothers  an'  a  par 
cel  o'  women  folks.  They  come  from  the 


A  HELPFUL  SUITOR  31 

East  when  the  yellow  stuff  was  first  dis 
covered,  but  they  did  n't  strike  none  an' 
they  just  drift  along.  Why?  —  What's  he 
to  you?" 

"Nothin'.  I  just  heerd  the  name  once  or 
twice,"  returned  Clay,  musing  upon  the 
coincidence  which  had  brought  so  clearly  to 
his  mind  the  painful  cause  of  his  leaving  the 
old  home  so  dear  to  his  thoughts. 

Rube  worked  hard,  at  least  for  him,  and 
once  or  twice,  as  he  delivered  to  Salomy 
some  of  the  lighter  articles,  their  hands  met, 
and  the  thrill  which  set  his  pulses  beating 
spurred  him  on  to  greater  activities.  He 
fetched  and  carried  well  on  into  the  even 
ing  hours  and  was  rewarded  with  an  invi 
tation  to  supper,  the  first  meal  in  the  new 
house,  now  made  partly  homelike  by  the 
addition  of  all  the  worldly  belongings  Clay 
had  been  able  to  bring  from  Kentucky. 

"  I  can't  thank  you  enough,  Rube,"  said 
Salomy  at  his  parting. 

"Yes,  yer  ken;  yer  can  let  me  come 


32          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

ag'in,"  returned  Rube,  getting  bolder  as 
he  realized  that  he  was  first  in  a  field  likely 
to  become  a  hotly  contested  one;  for  the 
glimpse  he  had  of  the  Clay  belongings  told 
him  they  would  add  an  importance  to 
Salomy  which  it  would  take  all  her  reserve 
and  inaccessibility  to  offset.  Her  reserve, 
the  result  of  a  cool,  lazy  Southern  tempera 
ment,  was  something  Rube  did  not  reckon 
with,  and  her  cheery  "Sure,  come  ag'in 
soon,"  remained  in  his  mind  as  an  advance 
on  her  part  which  boded  good  fortune. 

Meanwhile,  Madison  Clay  had  sunk  into 
his  chair,  his  pipe  cold  between  his  teeth, 
his  head  bent  in  reverie.  Salomy's  protect 
ing  admiration  for  him  had  grown  since 
her  mother's  death,  and  the  feud,  which  had 
been  revived  by  her  unfortunate  encounter 
with  Ched  Larrabee,  had  brought  father 
and  daughter  more  closely  together,  and 
had,  at  the  same  time,  prejudiced  her 
against  men  in  general.  As  for  Mr.  Clay, 
he  accepted  her  as  housewifely,  though 


A  HELPFUL  SUITOR  33 

somewhat  "interfering"  and  being  one  of 
"his  own  womankind,"  therefore  not  with 
out  some  merit. 

"It's  bed  time,  Dad,"  said  Salomy, 
gently  touching  his  shoulder.  "What  yer 
thinkin'  on?" 

"Larrabee,"  replied  her  father.  "I  don't 
like  the  name  here  any  better  than  I  did 
back  home,"  as  he  fell  back  into  his  atti 
tude  of  dejected  musing. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  STRANGER 

IT  was  an  unusually  hot  day.  The  Hang- 
town  General  Store  seemed  to  shrivel  with 
the  heat  of  the  sun  which  beat  without  let 
or  hindrance  upon  the  warped  shingles  of 
the  roof.  The  tin  sign,  bearing  in  uneven 
lettering  "Post-Office,"  glowed  with  an 
insufferable  light;  the  pine  grove  to  the 
right,  through  which  the  road  ran  to  the 
East,  was  too  far  away  to  afford  protection. 
The  air  seemed  rising  in  measured  intervals 
from  the  dry  arid  soil  as  if  slowly  impelled 
by  some  unseen  force.  Two  dejected-look 
ing  horses  were  hitched  insecurely  to  the 
somewhat  shaky  posts  which  supported 
the  overhanging  roof  of  the  building,  but 
the  only  sign  of  the  presence  of  man, 
woman,  or  child  was  a  dull  murmur  of 
voices  from  within. 


THE  STRANGER  35 

The  sound  of  hoofs  and  the  jingle  of 
harness,  with  its  accompaniment  of  creaks 
and  groans  from  the  approaching  coach, 
failed  to  arouse  those  who  were  inside, 
until  the  grating  of  Yuba's  voice  broke  the 
spell. 

"Wall,  I  ain't  got  much  outer  yer, 
stranger." 

The  young  man  addressed  turned  as  he 
jumped  to  the  ground,  and,  with  a  smile 
which  showed  a  remarkably  white  set  of 
teeth,  replied  in  a  pleasantly  modulated 
voice  which  bespoke  education  if  not  cul 
ture. 

"Come  up  to  the  bar  and  I'll  try  and 
make  up  for  it." 

Although  a  man  or  two  had  sauntered 
forth  from  the  open  door  to  greet  the  arrivals 
and  to  take  a  hand  with  the  mail  and  ex 
press  parcels,  the  murmur  from  within  still 
continued,  and  as  Yuba  and  his  companion 
entered,  it  soon  became  evident  that  the 
noise  proceeded  from  a  corner  of  the  swelt- 


3  6          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

ering  barroom  where  a  card  game  of  some 
proportions  was  progressing  with  alarming 
rapidity. 

"Them  fellers  b'n  at  it  all  night,"  ven 
tured  the  genial  barkeeper  as  he  pushed  the 
customary  black  bottle  toward  Yuba. 

"Dodgasted  idiot,  that  Red  Pete  settin' 
in  with  Jack  Hamlin,"  returned  Yuba, 
punctuating  the  remark  by  a  copious  ex 
pectoration  accurately  delivered  at  the 
wooden  spittoon  some  three  feet  distant. 

"Ain't  got  er  red  to  his  name,  'cept  his 
head.  His  wife  an'  kids  hungry  most  o' 
the  time,  an'  luk  at  him  gittin'  skinned. 
Ben  thar  myself  once  or  twice,"  he  con 
tinued. 

"Jack's  a  slick  one.  So's  thet  feller 
Fowler,  I  reckon,  though  he  ain't  ben  here 
long.  He  come  out  'bout  three  months  ago; 
p'raps  you  know  him." 

The  stranger  was  inspecting  the  quartette 
with  casual  curiosity.  Hamlin,  Fowler, 
Larrabee,  and  Pete  showed  how  effectually 


THE  STRANGER  37 

gambling  could  eliminate  all  personality 
when  it  developed  latent  characteristics. 

The  mutterings  stopped  abruptly  as 
Hamlin's  smooth  right  hand,  with  its  dia 
mond  ring  gleaming  on  the  little  finger, 
swept  the  pot  deftly  toward  him. 

"Well,  boys,  any  more?  It's  up  to  you." 
Jack  Hamlin  fixed  his  keen  eyes  upon 
Fowler,  whose  chalky  complexion  had  grown 
a  shade  grayer  under  the  fire  of  the  last 
hand. 

"By  G — d,  no,"  rasped  Pete,  flinging 
back  his  chair  and  turning  his  back  upon 
the  table. 

"Hold  on,  then;  I  guess  I've  just  about 
credit  enough  for  a  round,  boys;  step  up 
and  let's  drink  to  the  next  time,"  said 
Fowler.  "And  you,  Yuba,  and  your  friend; 
come  on,  boys,  line  up.  Any  mail,  Yuba?" 

"Letter  for  Larrabee  and  sutthin'  for 
Welch.  Never  had  sech  a  sweatin'  trip  in 
all  my  life.  You  boys  ought  ter  git  out  an' 
feel  the  heat  down  ter  Sawyer's  Crossin'." 


3 8          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

There  was  little  response  to  Yuba's  re 
marks,  for  all  eyes  were  turned  toward 
Larrabee,  who  alone  of  the  group  remained 
seated  at  the  table.  The  letter  which  had 
come  lay  open  before  him.  His  dull  face, 
usually  bearing  an  expression  of  weak  good 
humor,  was  distorted  by  a  mixture  of  fear 
and  rage.  His  hands  opened  and  shut,  the 
fingers  moving  over  the  palms  as  if  to  wipe 
away  the  sweat  which  had  accumulated 
there.  His  head  was  bent,  and  his  eyes 
looked  up  and  out  into  vacancy,  evidently 
forgetful  of  his  surroundings  until  the 
thunder  of  Yuba's  voice  again  broke  the 
stillness. 

"Wot  in  h — ll's  the  matter  with  you, 
Larrabee?" 

Larrabee  turned  slowly  and  gazed  blankly 
at  Yuba. 

"Read  thet  thar  letter,"  he  said,  rising 
and  handing  the  paper  to  Yuba,  who,  with 
a  shake  of  the  head,  handed  it  in  turn  to 
Hamlin,  who  read  aloud  to  the  inquisi- 


THE  STRANGER  39 

tive  group  the  following  remarkable  docu 
ment:— 

DEAR  PHIL:- 

I  ain't  beared  from  yer  fer  some  years,  but 
I  reckon  yer  still  prospectin',  fer  ef  yer  bed 
struck  anything  yaller  yer'd  'a'  come  East 
to  show  yer  friends  what  a  great  man  yer 
was.  And  so  I  'm  writin'  to  the  old  Hang- 
town  address  yer  gev  me,  in  the  hope  that 
this  '11  reach  yer.  Yer  'member  down  to  the 
forks,  'bout  seven  mile  frum  our  house,  they 
was  a  family  of  Clays,  pretty  well-to-do 
they  was,  too;  well,  old  Madison  Clay  lost 
his  wife  an'  they  say  it  soured  his  disposi 
tion.  Anyhow  he  would  n't  have  nuthin' 
to  do  with  the  neighbors  fer  some  time  an' 
his  girl,  Salomy  Jane,  was  growin'  into  a 
likely  lass,  an'  Ched,  my  boy,  was  gettin' 
sweet  on  her.  I  told  him  ter  quit,  fer  Clay 
was  one  of  them  Wilson  group  what  lynched 
yer  old  man  'way  back  years  ago,  an'  I 
won't  have  no  Clays  comin'  into  my  family, 


40          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

not  if  I  know  it  fust.  Ched  he  was  too  far 
gone,  I  guess;  anyhow  he  kep'  right  on, 
though  the  gal  an'  old  Clay  they  was  that 
uppish  thet  they  did  n't  want  it  no  more'n 
I  did.  Wai,  one  night  Ched  had  a  little  too 
much,  I  reckon,  an'  he  came  on  Salomy  at 
the  spring  an'  he  kissed  her.  The  old  man 
heared  of  it  an'  next  day,  as  Ched  was 
ridin'  by,  tried  to  shoot  him.  The  hull  place 
heared  of  it  afore  I  did,  but  when  I  did,  by 
G — d,  I  swore  I  'd  kill  him  an'  I  would,  only 
he  an'  his  gal  lit  out  an'  't  was  only  yester 
day  we  heard  thru  Ken  Wilson  thet  they 
had  struck  your  trail.  Phil,  yer've  got  ter 
uphold  the  honor  of  the  family  and  revenge 
yer  Dad's  death,  an'  when  I  hear  from  yer 
that  Madison  Clay  is  shot,  thar'll  be  re- 
joicin'  in  the  Blue  Grass  sech  as  never  was. 
Nothin'  short  o'  death,  you  remember. 

BILL  LARRABEE. 

There  was  silence  for  an  instant,  and  then 
Hamlin  continued  quietly:- 


THE  STRANGER  41 

"Seems  a  pity  to  brand  a  man  for  pro 
tecting  his  daughter  and  more  of  a  pity  to 
take  away  a  girl's  only  protector." 

"I  guess  she  can  find  a  protector  easy 
enough,"  replied  Fowler,  in  a  tone  that 
made  the  stranger  turn  quickly. 

Until  this  moment,  he  had  not  given 
any  especial  attention  to  this  flashily  over 
dressed  gambler  with  his  smooth  chalky 
face  and  somewhat  sinister  smile.  As  he 
watched  him  there  crept  into  the  stranger's 
face  an  expression,  the  result  of  an  idea 
which,  lurking  at  the  back  of  his  brain, 
became  at  this  moment  a  concentrated 
thought. 

The  face  of  his  sister  fixed  itself  upon  his 
imagination.  A  face  framed  in  light-brown 
curling  hair,  always  dancing  with  the  quick 
motion  of  her  lithe  body;  a  sweet  winsome 
smile  lurking  in  the  corners  of  her  mouth 
and  eyes ;  an  image  which  always  brought 
torture  to  his  soul  because  of  the  pity  of  her 
downfall,  the  result  of  her  simple  trust  and 


42         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

innocence.  Was  this,  after  all,  the  man? 
The  contraction  of  his  nerves,  the  sudden 
chill  in  his  marrow  seemed  almost  to  prove 
the  contact.  The  picture  which  he  had 
carried  for  so  many  months,  against  the 
hoped-for  meeting,  showed  a  face  of  what 
might  have  been  a  more  robust  type, 
a  long  mustache  hid  the  mouth,  the  hair 
was  closely  cropped,  and  yet  the  general 
features  appeared  to  be  the  same.  An  al 
most  uncontrollable  desire  to  pull  forth 
the  picture  and  compare  it  line  by  line  with 
Fowler's  saturnine  countenance  held  him, 
as  Hamlin's  voice  broke  in  once  more. 

"Well,  boys,  the  drinks  are  waiting,  and 
I  am  going  to  drink  the  health  and  good 
luck  of  Salomy,  even  if  she  does  not  look 
kindly  upon  this  poor  crowd  of  her  loyal 
slaves." 

But  as  the  glasses  clinked,  the  stranger 
left  his  untasted,  and  made  his  way  blindly 
toward  the  patch  of  light  which  marked  the 
narrow  doorway. 


CHAPTER  V 

TROUBLE  BREWING 

IT  had  been  a  busy  month  for  Salomy. 
The  long  summer  days  had  passed  quickly, 
occupied  as  she  was  with  settling  their 
household  goods,  and  in  making  a  home  in 
the  rambling  house.  She  took  delight  in 
arranging  the  rooms  as  nearly  identical  with 
their  old  home  in  Kentucky  as  possible.  It 
had  been  one  of  her  father's  strongest  de 
sires  "back  thar"  to  have  the  house  kept 
just  as  her  mother  had  arranged  it,  and 
Salomy  had  always  deferred  to  his  wishes. 
With  this  thought  uppermost  in  her  mind, 
every  familiar  piece  was  placed  in  accus 
tomed  relation  to  every  other;  even  the  two 
old  clocks  that  had  perched,  side  by  side, 
on  their  kitchen  "mantel,"  were  placed  in 
the  new  kitchen.  One  was  always  ten  min 
utes  slower  than  the  other,  and  Madison 


44          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Clay,  having  had  one  of  them  before  Salomy 
was  born,  depended  on  this  favorite,  while 
Salomy  "took  stock"  in  the  other.  Having 
discovered  long  before  that  this  was  one 
subject,  at  least,  Upon  which  they  could 
never  agree,  they  compromised  by  Madi 
son  telling  time  with  one,  and  Salomy  with 
the  other.  Thus  peace  was  restored. 

In  the  parlor,  the  horsehair  chairs  and 
sofa  were  arranged  with  mathematical  pre 
cision.  On  the  marble-topped  table  the 
family  Bible  reposed  in  state,  and  between 
the  windows  stood  Salomy's  parlor  organ, 
whose  transportation  thither  had  been  a 
marvel  of  packing.  It  was  a  never-failing 
delight  to  the  children,  who  stood  on  tiptoe 
outside  the  window  to  stare  into  the  room. 
The  most  constant  juvenile  friends  that 
Salomy  had  made  were  the  children  of  Red 
Pete,  her  nearest  neighbor,  who  lived  in  a 
tumbledown  shack,  about  a  mile  away 
through  the  woods.  She  had  heard  her 
father  speak  of  Red  Pete,  and  his  name  had 


TROUBLE  BREWING  45 

been  frequently  on  the  lips  of  the  three  men 
who  came  to  their  house  most  often  — 
Rube  Waters,  Jack  Hamlin,  and  Colonel 
Starbottle.  From  what  they  had  told  her, 
she  learned  that  Pete  was  a  worthless  in 
dividual  with  a  sturdy  wife  upon  whom  he 
depended.  His  wife  did  most  of  the  wash 
ing  for  the  unattached  men  of  the  settle 
ment,  and  for  the  miners  who  came  in 
periodically,  their  chief  reason  for  so  doing 
being  of  an  alcoholic  nature.  She  worked 
unceasingly  in  order  that  her  three  chil 
dren,  upon  whom  she  lavished  a  sort  of 
scolding  affection,  might  have  a  few  of  the 
necessities  of  life.  Salomy  had  the  utmost 
contempt  for  Red  Pete,  and  pity  for  his 
wife.  The  man  was  a  good  worker  when  he 
chose  to  work,  but  it  was  rare,  indeed,  that 
he  did  more  than  loaf  around  the  general 
store.  At  times  he  went  off  on  mysterious 
excursions,  presumably  to  sell  cattle,  with 
his  "pal,"  Bill  Gallagher,  after  which  they 
both  returned  with  pockets  clinking  with 


46          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

the  merry  sound  of  gold-pieces.  On  such 
occasions  the  stakes  ran  high  in  the  games 
they  played  in  the  saloon  corner,  but  Mrs. 
Pete  profited  not  by  these  spasms  of  wealth. 

One  Sunday  night,  Hamlin,  Waters,  and 
the  Colonel  all  came  to  call.  Salomy's  old 
parlor  organ  was  a  decided  novelty  in 
Hangtown,  and  she  had  played  everything, 
from  the  hymns  in  her  hymn  book  to  the 
rollicking  songs,  centered  on  the  gold  rush, 
that  had  leaped  into  being.  Afterwards,  as 
they  sat  talking,  Hamlin  said :  — 

"Well,  Red  Pete  was  cleaned  out  to-day, 
for  fair.  That  chap  is  surely  a  hoodoo.  He 
never  seems. to  have  any  luck.  He  ought  to 
quit  the  game." 

"Yes,  he  ought  ter,"  Salomy  said.  "I'm 
sorry  fer  his  pore  wife  and  those  little  chil- 
dern  o'  his.  They're  real  cute  youngsters, 
and  so's  the  little  cousin,  Willy  Smith. 
They  come  runnin'  over  here  in  rags.  I 
kinder  like  to  feed  'em  up,  and  they  dote 
on  hearin'  the  organ." 


TROUBLE  BREWING  47 

The  three  men  sympathized  with  Mrs. 
Red  Pete,  and  Madison  Clay  broke  in,  — 

"It'd  be  only  neighborly  for  you  to  run 
over  and  see  the  pore  woman,  S'lomy.  Take 
her  over  some  o'  them  cookies  o'  yourn,  for 
the  little  ones.  'T  would  n't  do  you  a  bit 
of  harm,  gal." 

"All  right,  Dad;  I'll  go  to-morrer.  I'd 
V  gone  before,  but  I  bin  busy  with  one 
thing  or  'nother." 

The  next  day,  Salomy's  father  developed 
a  touch  of  the  "  rheumatis,"  which  left  him 
dependent  on  her  for  the  whole  week,  and 
this  so  far  set  her  back  in  her  household  du 
ties  that  it  was  not  for  another  week  that  she 
found  opportunity  to  call  on  her  neighbor. 

This  bright  morning,  however,  Salomy 
put  on  her  yellow  nankeen  sunbonnet,  - 
a  hideous  affair  that  would  have  ruined  any 
other  woman,  but  which  only  enhanced  the 
piquancy  of  her   fresh   brunette   skin,  - 
tied  the  strings,   letting  the  brown  curls 
escape   below   its   frilled    curtain   behind. 


48          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Thus  adorned,  she  set  out  briskly  for  Red 
Pete's  house,  taking  a  generous  supply  of 
the  famous  cookies.  Her  way  lay  through 
the  forest  of  giant  trees,  into  which  the  sun 
light  did  not  filter  until  almost  midday. 
After  a  short  time,  for  she  was  accustomed 
to  covering  long  distances  on  foot,  and  pre 
ferred  to  take  the  short  way  instead  of 
riding  her  horse  around  the  road,  she  came 
to  the  clearing,  in  the  midst  of  which  stood 
Red  Pete's  house,  if  house  it  could  be  called. 
A  rickety  wooden  shack  set  on  a  rough 
platform,  with  no  glass  in  the  windows,  and 
a  dilapidated  door,  served  as  home  for  the 
neglected  family  of  this  ne'er-do-well.  Two 
clothes-lines,  well  laden,  extended  from  a 
hook  on  the  side  of  the  house  to  the  nearest 
sapling,  and  around  the  corner  of  the  house 
Salomy  heard  the  sound  of  vigorous  scrub 
bing.  She  started  forward,  to  be  met  by  the 
little  girl,  dressed  only  in  her  ragged  under 
clothing,  to  whom  Salomy  was  a  fairy  god 
mother. 


TROUBLE  BREWING  49 

"Howdy,  little  girl.  Is  your  ma  here 
abouts?"  she  said  cheerily,  picking  the 
child  up  in  her  strong  young  arms,  and 
swinging  her  above  her  head.  The  little 
girl  laughed. 

"Yes,  she  be.  You  foller  me.  Ma-a-a! 
Ma-a-a!"  she  chirruped,  skipping  around 
the  platform,  and  pulling  Salomy  after  her. 
They  rounded  the  corner,  and  came  face 
to  face  with  a  woman  who  rose  from  her 
tub,  and  came  forward  to  greet  Salomy, 
wiping  her  hands  on  her  already  drenched 
apron. 

"Are  you  Mrs.  Pete,  ma'am?"  Salomy 
inquired,  her  kindly  smile  making  friends  at 
once  with  the  other  woman. 

"Yes.  Ain't  you  Salomy  Jane  Clay,  that 
I  bin  hearin'  about?  My  man  tells  me  as 
how  you  Ve  bin  makin'  a  hit  with  the  boys 
down  to  the  store.  Don't  wonder,"  she 
said  admiringly,  as  she  gripped  Salomy's 
hand  in  her  own  coarse  palm.  "The  young 
sters  bin  tellin'  me  'bout  your  givin'  'em 


50          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

cookies,  and  playin'  the  music  thing  for  'em. 
Powerful  kind  o'  you,  I  must  say." 

"I  took  a  likin'  to  'em.  Mighty  cute 
little  ones,  Mrs.  Pete.  Me  an'  Jinny  thar, 
we're  great  friends,  ain't  we?"  she  said  to 
the  little  girl,  who  smiled  up  at  her. 

"Pore  little  chicks;  they  need  a  friend, 
Lord  knows,"  sighed  Mrs.  Pete,  as  she  ran 
her  hand  over  the  child's  curls.  Salomy's 
heart  ached  for  her,  and  she  changed  the 
subject. 

"Wai,  I  made  some  o'  my  cookies  for 
Dad,  and  I  thought  as  how  you  might  like 
to  sample  'em,  and  so  I  come  over  with 
'em.  'T  ain't  no  use  havin'  neighbors,  if 
folks  ain't  neighborly.  Why,  back  in  Kain- 
tucky,  whar  I  come  frum,  me  an'  my  neigh 
bor  used  to  see  each  other  reg'lar.  O'  course 
we  went  to  prayer  meetin'  together,  and 
that  helps." 

"Yes,  it  does.  I  don't  see  a  woman  one 
end  the  month  to  the  other,  'ceptin'  when 
I  go  down  to  the  store,"  replied  Mrs.  Pete. 


TROUBLE  BREWING  51 

She  became  much  interested  in  the  tempt 
ing  cookies  that  Salomy  set  down. 

"Right  kind  o'  you,  Mis'  Clay.  We  don't 
have  sech  things  here;  lucky  if  we  git  bread, 
let  alone  cake.  My  husband  —  if  I  do  say 
it  as  should  n't  —  ain't  strong  on  work,  and 
it 's  as  much  as  I  kin  do  to  look  arter  the 
youngsters.  Car'line  thar;  she's  got  to 
stay  in  till  her  clo's  is  dry,  and  Jinny's 
waitin'  fer  her  dress.  Here,  Jinny;  here's 
a  cake  fer  you,  and  take  one  in  ter  Car'line." 

The  child  scampered  off,  and  Mrs.  Pete 
resumed  her  washing.  Salomy  told  her  of 
her  life  in  Kentucky,  and  of  their  trip  from 
her  native  State  to  California.  The  other 
woman  listened  with  interest. 

"You  got  a  fine  house,  ain't  you,  Miss 
Clay?  The  children  tell  me  you've  got  a 
marble-topp'd  table,  and  grand  chairs  and 
sofa.  Mebbe  I  '11  come  over  some  day." 

"I  wish  yer  would,  Mrs.  Pete.  Dad  and 
me'd  be  right  glad  to  see  yer.  Bring  the 
children  along,  and  I'll  play  the  organ  for 


52          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

you.  Come  over  often,"  she  urged  hos 
pitably. 

"All  right.  Pete's  goin'  away  to-night; 
huntin'  up  some  cattle  him  and  Gallagher 
heard  had  strayed  away.  Mebbe  I  'd  come 
ter-morrer,  or  the  next  day.  Yer  know, 
Pete  means  all  right,  but  he's  awful  lazy," 
she  went  on,  by  way  of  excusing  her  better 
half. 

In  the  curious  way  of  the  primitive 
woman,  she  was  loyal  to  this  worthless 
husband  of  hers,  even  while  most  of  the 
day  was  spent  in  violent  upbraidings,  un 
til  he  would  slouch  off  in  the  direction  of 
the  Hangtown  bar.  She  talked  on,  occupied 
all  the  time  with  the  many-hued  garments 
under  her  hands,  now  wringing  out  the 
clothes  and  hanging  them  to  dry;  now  el 
bow  deep  in  suds.  Salomy  heard  enough 
about  Pete  in  the  next  half-hour  to  make 
her  feel  as  if  she  had  known  him  for  years, 
and  it  was  with  a  feeling  of  familiarity  that 
she  heard  his  voice  calling  for  his  wife. 


TROUBLE  BREWING  53 

"Stop  yer  yellin',  Pete.  I  got  comp'ny," 
his  wife  answered  shortly. 

He  lounged  around  the  corner  of  the 
house,  and  glanced  sulkily  at  Salomy,  sit 
ting  cool  and  unconcerned  on  the  bench. 

"All  right.  No  call  to  git  mad  about  it, 
is  thar?"  he  retorted. 

He  stood  leaning  up  against  the  door- 
jamb,  whittling  a  useless  piece  of  wood,  and 
sullenly  watched  the  two  women.  The  si 
lence  became  uncomfortable,  and  finally 
Salomy,  without  a  glance  in  his  direction, 
rose  to  go. 

"  Be  sure  you  come  over,  Mrs.  Pete,"  she 
said.  "Me  an'  Dad '11  be  expectin'  yer  with 
the  childern." 

Pete's  wife  thanked  her  warmly,  and 
Salomy  departed. 

The  girl  swung  along,  singing  softly  to 
herself.  If  she  hurried  she  would  just  be  in 
time  to  prepare  the  family  dinner.  She  had 
walked  about  half  the  distance,  and  had 
turned  a  corner  in  the  rough  footpath,  when 


54          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

she  thought  she  heard  a  branch  crack  be 
hind  her.  She  turned,  sharply.  No  one  was 
in  sight.  She  tossed  her  head,  and  went  on, 
giving  herself  a  mental  scolding  for  "havin' 
fool  notions."  But  a  moment  or  two  later, 
the  same  sound  was  repeated,  almost  di 
rectly  behind  her,  and  she  wheeled  to  see 
Ashton  Fowler  standing  there. 

He  smiled  at  her,  a  slow,  crafty  smile  that 
but  made  his  face  the  more  sinister. 

"Howdy,  Miss  Salomy.  Reckon  it  was 
good  luck  made  me  fall  in  with  you,"  he  said. 

"Good  luck  for  you,  mebbe.  I  dunno 
about  my  part,"  she  said  frigidly,  and  would 
have  moved  on,  but  that  he  stepped  forward, 
barring  her  path.  "I  reckon  as  how  I'll  be 
gittin'  on,  if  you  '11  have  the  manners  to  let 
me  by,"  she  said  sharply. 

"To  be  sure,  Miss  Salomy,  in  a  minute. 
But  I  got  news  for  you.  I  just  came  from 
the  store;  the  stage  just  got  in.  We'd  been 
playin'  cards,  and  a  stranger  came  with  the 
stage.  He  stepped  up  to  the  bar  when  I 


TROUBLE  BREWING  55 

called  to  the  boys  to  drink  on  me,  but  he 
took  his  glass  and  then  would  n't  drink." 
He  scowled  at  the  thought. 

"What's  that  to  me?  Is  that  yer  news?" 
Salomy  demanded.  "Well,  if  it  is,  I  don't 
want  to  hear  no  more." 

"No,  that  is  n't  all.  You  know  that  Phil 
Larrabee  who  is  n't  particularly  fond  of 
your  pa?  Well,  he  got  a  letter  from  his 
folks  back  in  Kentucky,  and  he  swears 
he'll  get  your  dad.  Somethin'  'bout  a  love 
affair  of  yours,"  he  leered. 

"Oh,  he  will  git  dad,  will  he?"  Salomy 
stormed.  "The  low-down,  sneakin'  critter. 
And  as  fer  you,  Mister  Fowler,  I  thought  as 
how  you  and  Larrabee  was  friends?  Why 
are  you  goin'  out  o'  your  way  to  tell  me, 
instead  o'  helpin'  your  good  friend?"  she 
sneered. 

"  I  'm  telling  you  so  that  you  can  warn 
your  pa,"  he  continued.  "  I  'm  fond  of  you, 
Salomy,  and  I  don't  want  any  harm  to 
come  to  you." 


56          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

He  paused  for  a  moment,  gazing  with 
passionate  eyes  at  the  girl  before  him. 

"The  very  first  day  I  saw  you  at  the 
store,  you  got  me,"  he  continued,  "and 
I've  been  thinking  of  you  ever  since.  I 
want  you  to  care  for  me  as  I  care  for  you. 
I  want- 

"You  want  too  much,"  interrupted 
Salomy  shortly.  "You  let  me  by.  That's 
all  I  want  of  you."  And  she  turned  to  go, 
scenting  danger. 

His  answer  was  to  snatch  her  into  his 
arms,  and  stung  to  madness  by  her  taunts 
and  her  defiant  beauty,  he  crushed  her  to 
him,  forcing  her  head  back  to  reach  her  lips. 
Gasping  with  mingled  rage  and  terror,  Sa 
lomy  struggled  with  all  her  strength;  one 
strong  young  hand  reached  out,  and  struck 
him  full  across  the  mouth,  the  simple  ring 
she  wore  bringing  the  blood  in  an  ugly 
mark.  He  only  laughed  at  her,  kissing  her 
again  and  again  —  until  suddenly  some  one 
crashed  down  the  path;  a  tall,  lithe  figure, 


TROUBLE  BREWING  57 

which  leaped  at  Fowler,  tore  his  arms  from 
about  the  girl's  figure,  and  with  a  quick 
twist  hurled  him  to  the  ground.  It  was  the 
stranger  who  had  refused  to  drink  with  him 
at  the  bar  but  an  hour  ago ! 

The  stranger  turned  to  Salomy,  who  was 
sobbing  more  with  fury  than  with  fright, 
her  face  buried  in  her  arms. 

"Don't  cry,  miss,  please.  It's  all  right. 
That  blackguard  won't  harm  you  again," 
he  said,  trying  to  comfort  her.  He  lifted  her 
from  the  log  on  which  she  had  collapsed. 
"Do  you  want  me  to  go  along  with  you?" 
he  said  gently. 

She  shook  her  head,  her  handkerchief 
over  her  eyes. 

"No,"  she  sobbed.  "Thanks."  And 
turning  from  him,  she  ran  swiftly  in  the 
direction  of  her  home. 

The  stranger  turned  to  look  for  Fowler, 
but  that  individual,  being  unarmed  and  not 
wishing  again  to  feel  those  hands  at  his 
throat,  had  disappeared  along  the  path. 


58          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

The  stranger  clenched  his  hands;  his  eyes 
narrowed,  as  his  mind  groped  for  light. 
That  face ;  surely  it  was  the  face  of  the  pho 
tograph  he  carried  with  him  always.  He 
pulled  out  the  picture  from  under  his  shirt ; 
in  the  strong  light  the  resemblance  was  un 
mistakable,  and  with  a  muttered  oath,  he 
hastened  off  along  the  path  down  which 
Fowler  had  fled. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    HOLD-UP 

YUBA  BILL  was  in  a  particularly  happy 
frame  of  mind.  In  the  first  place,  it  was 
cooler,  a  fact  of  real  significance  to  a  man 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty-odd  pounds 
whose  height  was  but  five  feet  eight  and  a 
half  in  his  socks.  In  the  second,  his  present 
matrimonial  difficulties  were  of  but  a  minor 
character,  and  the  present  lady  of  his  choice 
was  at  a  safe  distance,  namely,  at  Stockton. 
And  last,  if  not  least,  the  night  before  had 
been  a  singularly  fortunate  one  for  him  de 
spite  the  presence  of  one  Oakley,  and  the 
clink  of  the  round  metal  fellows  in  his  capa 
cious  pockets  was  a  constant  reminder  of 
his  luck. 

The  stage  had  passed  the  divide  and  was 
making  good  progress  toward  Hangtown; 
the  leaders,  scenting  the  home  stretch,  re- 


60          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

sponded  to  Yuba's  urging  with  voice  and 
whip,  and  the  few  passengers,  shifting  their 
positions  of  uncomfortable  languor  for  a 
more  rigid  state  of  expectancy,  joined  in  a 
conversation  which  up  to  this  time  had  been 
conducted  almost  entirely  by  Yuba. 

"  Dis  yer  ain't  no  woman  foolishness  like 
down  at  that  Red  Horse  Gulch,"  quavered 
Larrabee,  whose  appearance  betokened  an 
unusually  protracted  visit  to  the  Wingdam 
Hotel  bar,  and  whose  dejected  manner 
bore  evidence  to  his  troubled  and  clouded 
state  of  mind. 

"Your  statement,"  replied  Hamlin,  who 
was  on  the  box  beside  Yuba,  "emanates 
from  a  moral  sentiment,  debased  by  love- 
feasts  and  camp-meetings,  and  an  intellect 
weakened  by  rum  and  gum  and  the  contact 
of  lager-beer  jerkers.  It  is  worthy  of  a  short- 
card  sharp  and  a  keno-flopper,  which  I 
have,  I  regret  to  say,  long  suspected  you  to 
be.  I  may  be  wrong,  mind  you,  and  if  so,  my 
apologies  will  be  as  sincere  as  my  satisfac- 


THE  HOLD-UP  61 

tion  keen  in  having  discovered  a  man  in 
place  of  a  cur." 

Larrabee  gazed  with  watery  eyes  at  the 
fresh,  immaculate  figure  before  him  for 
some  moments  before  replying.  Then,  with 
a  shrug  of  his  shoulders,  he  relapsed  into 
an  attitude  of  dispirited  gloom,  and  mum 
bled  :- 

"Yer  don't  know  nothin'  about  it.  Yer 
kin  slam  erround  words  thet  no  other  man 
could  an'  live.  I  may  be  wors  'n  some,  but  I 
ain't  thet  black  as  you  indercate.  I  got  sut- 
thin'  on  m'  mind  I  can't  seem  ter  fergit, 
even  when  I  ain't  sober,  —  an'  it  ain't  no 
woman."  Larrabee  slunk  down  in  his  seat, 
effectively  closing  his  remarks  by  a  well- 
aimed  expectoration  which  just  cleared  the 
wheel. 

"Why  in  all  the  hells  of  an  ill-gotten 
world  don't  yer  git  it  out  er  yer  system," 
interposed  Yuba,  in  a  tone  that  could  be 
heard  in  spite  of  the  creak  and  rumble  of 
the  coach.  "I  ain't  preventin'  yer,  be  I?" 


6i          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

" Yerknow  'swell  as  I  do,"  said  Larrabee, 
clutching  the  back  of  the  seat  in  front,  and 
drawing  himself  up  until  his  head  was  be 
tween  the  two  men  in  front.  "It's  thet 
cussed  letter  wot  come  frum  Bill.  It's  thet 
blamed  feud  as  wot  I've  got  ter  end.  It's 
thet  ole  man  Clay  and  his  gal.  Thet's  wot 
't  is." 

"Ha,  then!  It  is  a  woman  after  all,"  re 
marked  Hamlin  with  a  smile  of  cynical  phi 
losophy.  Not  that  he  depreciated  the  sex, 
but  that  he  recognized  therein  a  deceitful 
element,  the  pursuit  of  which  sometimes 
drew  mankind  away  from  the  equally  un 
certain  blandishments  of  poker  —  of  which, 
it  may  be  remarked,  Mr.  Hamlin  was  a  pro 
fessional  exponent. 

In  the  case  of  Salomy  he  had  already 
noted  an  exception,  and  he  had  further  de 
tected  upon  his  own  part  a  growing  feeling 
which  he  viewed  with  alarm.  Salomy  was 
free  from  those  qualities  so  apparent  in  her 
sex,  qualities  of  coquetry,  of  craft,  of  what 


THE  HOLD-UP  63 

might  be  embraced  by  the  term  of  feminine 
wile,  and  in  their  place  she  possessed  an 
open  disregard  of  sex  allurement  and  a 
healthy,  free  love  for  fairness  which  struck 
home.  Mr.  Hamlin  fast  felt  vanishing  the 
barriers  which  breeding  and  education  had 
placed  between  him  and  Salomy,  a  distinc 
tion  which  counted  for  so  little  in  a  country 
which  he  had  adopted  as  his  own.  He  was 
curious  to  know  how  Larrabee,  weak,  sod 
den,  and  bereft  of  all  finer  instincts,  could 
recognize  the  qualities  this  girl  possessed, 
and  so  asked :  - 

"Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it, 
-  carry  a  curse  across  the  continent,  fight 
a  man  old  enough  to  be  your  father,  de 
prive  a  girl  of  her  only  protector,  and  then 
be  hung  for  the  satisfaction  it  gave  you?" 

"I  dunno,"  ruminated  Larrabee. 

"  I  dunno,  either,"  broke  in  Yuba, "  but  ef 
yer  tech  her,  by  G  —  d,  thar'll  be  no  trial, 
yer  can  bet  yer  last  dollar;  thar'll  be  a 
lynchin',  sech  as  this  State  never  seed  afore. 


64          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

The  hull  place '11  rise  up  an  knock  yer  ter 
Kingdom  Come  fur  Salomy  Jane,  even  if 
she  don't  take  up  with  the  boys." 

As  Yuba's  outburst  spent  itself,  the  trio 
fell  back  into  silence.  A  subdued  turn  of 
conversation,  and  the  absence  of  cigar 
smoke  and  boot  heels  at  the  windows, 
proved  that  at  least  one  of  the  inside  pas 
sengers  was  a  woman. 

Colonel  Starbottle,  returning  from  one 
of  his  periodic  conflicts  with  the  legal  fra 
ternity  of  the  county  seat,  was  talking 
with  a  flashily  dressed  woman  of  uncertain 
years. 

"Ah,  I  am  relieved,  madam.  I  could 
scarcely  conceive  a  man  ignorant  enough 
to  —  er  —  er  —  throw  away  such  evident 
good  fortune  —  or  base  enough  to  deceive 
the  trustfulness  of  womanhood  —  matured 
and  experienced  only  in  the  chivalry  of  our 
sex,  ha  — " 

The  lady's  reply  was  suddenly  drowned 
in  the  noises  of  grinding,  hissing  brakes  as 


THE  HOLD-UP  65 

the  coach  came  to  a  sudden  stop,  jarring  the 
whole  frame,  and  throwing  the  occupants 
onto  the  front  seat  as  the  vehicle  ran  up  on 
and  recoiled  from  the  taut  pole-straps  of 
the  now  arrested  horses.  The  murmur  of  a 
voice  in  the  road  was  heard,  followed  by  a 
bellow  of  rage  from  Yuba. 

"Wot  ther  hell  is  this  -  Yes!  my  hands 
are  up,  yer  cowardly  skunk."  Yuba  Bill, 
dropping  the  reins,  followed  the  command 
of  a  masked  figure,  whose  gun  was  aimed 
at  him,  not  four  yards  away. 

The  Colonel,  righting  himself  with  some 
effort,  turned  to  the  coach  window  to  be 
confronted  by  a  second  weapon  pointed  at 
his  head,  the  muzzle  within  a  foot  of  his 
ruddy  nose,  held  by  some  ruffian  whose  face 
was  shaded  by  a  handkerchief  just  below 
the  eyes. 

"Hands  up !  Both  on  yer,"  said  the  muf 
fled  voice,  followed  by  a  scream  from  the 
Colonel's  companion,  so  shrill  and  so  sus 
tained  that  even  the  Colonel's  glance  wav- 


66          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

ered  from  the  glinting  barrel  of  the  gun  be 
fore  him. 

"You  are  —  er  —  perfectly  safe,  my  dear 
-  er  —  perfectly  safe.  There  is  some  mis 
take  here.  — This  is  the  coach  from  Wing- 
dam  to  Hangtown,  my  dear  fellah.  I'm 
Colonel  Starbottle,"  -  addressing  the  high 
way  man,—  "er — Colonel  Culpepper  Star- 
bottle.  I  beg  you,  sir,  to  remove  your 
obnoxious  weapon  and  explain  what  all  this 
means." 

"Hands  up!"  repeated  the  voice,  "and 
be  damned  quick,  too."  The  Colonel  as 
sumed  the  required  attitude  with  a  rapidity 
which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
have  alarmed  his  friends. 

Without,  there  was  a  stillness  which  be 
came  ominous.  The  three  men  on  the  top 
were  silently  watching  the  second  of  the 
hold-up  party,  each  side  waiting  for  an  op 
portunity  to  attack. 

Larrabee,  suddenly  aroused  from  his 
brooding,  was  sitting  directly  behind  Yuba, 


THE  HOLD-UP  67 

whose  pistol  hung  from  his  belt  at  his  hip 
within  reach  of  Larrabee's  hand.  His  eyes 
became  fascinated  with  it,  as,  with  hands 
raised,  an  idea  framed  itself  slowly  in  his 
clouded  brain.  Could  he  but  seize  it  with  a 
sudden  grasp,  he  could  turn  the  tables.  He 
possessed  a  certain  brute  courage  at  times, 
but  lacked  judgment  or  reason. 

Watching  until  he  saw  the  man's  eyes 
turn  upon  Hamlin  in  their  roving  from  one 
to  the  other,  he  carried  out  his  half-drunken 
purpose  so  far  as  getting  his  hand  on  the 
revolver,  when,  with  a  flash  and  report, 
Yuba  slid  from  his  seat,  and,  catching  on 
the  wheel,  fell  heavily  with  a  thud  to  the 
grass  beside  the  coach.  The  detached  revol 
ver  hurtled  through  the  air  behind  him,  and 
landed  at  the  feet  of  the  man  who,  panting 
as  if  from  heavy  exertion,  still  continued  to 
hold  his  smoking  pistol  at  the  two  remain 
ing  men.  Not  a  word  was  spoken  for  some 
moments,  when  the  leader  of  the  gang  called 
out  in  a  muffled  voice,  "Git  out  an'  line  up." 


68          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

His  orders  were  quickly  carried  out,  the 
Colonel  assisting  the  now  weeping  woman 
with  his  accustomed  gallantry. 

What  money  there  was  quickly  changed 
hands ;  a  few  trinkets,  a  pin  of  little  value, 
one  or  two  tawdry  rings,  and  a  gold  brace 
let  of  vulgar  pattern  were  all  the  effects 
which  the  lady  possessed  beside  a  purse, 
whose  contents  consisted  largely  of  hand 
kerchiefs,  smelling-salts,  and  the  remains  of 
a  sandwich. 

Yuba's  gains  of  the  night  before  were  the 
only  substantial  results  of  the  hold-up,  and 
without  a  further  glance  at  the  unarmed 
party,  the  two  men  turned  and  sought  the 
woods  as  silently  as  they  had  come. 

"Colonel,  you  and  your  friend  had  better 
go  inside  the  coach  while  we  see  what  we  can 
do  for  Yuba,"  said  Hamlin  quietly,  turning 
to  the  prostrate  form. 

It  was  but  the  work  of  a  moment  to  turn 
back  the  shirt  and  find  the  wound.  The 
bullet  had  entered  the  fleshy  part  of  the 


THE  HOLD-UP  69 

upper  arm;  not  a  serious  injury,  and  it  was 
evident  that  the  driver  was  suffering  more 
from  his  fall  than  from  the  shot. 

As  Hamlin  and  Larrabee,  together,  were 
in  the  act  of  raising  him,  the  sound  of  hoofs 
reached  their  ears,  and  in  a  moment  a  ca 
valcade  broke  from  the  woods,  approaching 
at  a  gallop. 

"H'm,  the  sheriff  and  his  gang,"  re 
marked  Hamlin,  "and  just  about  ten  min 
utes  too  late  as  usual." 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  LADY'S  COMMAND 

COMING  back  from  a  round  of  his  pas 
tures,  Madison  Clay  stepped  into  the  sunny 
kitchen  of  his  home,  and  called,  "S'lomy!" 
There  was  no  answer.  The  kettle  sang 
cheerfully  over  the  blazing  fire;  an  impri 
soned  fly  buzzed  against  the  window  pane, 
and  Madison  went  into  the  sitting-room, 
expecting  to  find  his  daughter  there. 

One  of  the  squaws  came  padding  in  on 
silent  feet. 

"Whar's  S'lomy?"  Clay  asked. 

The  woman  told  him  that  his  daughter 
had  gone  over  to  Red  Pete's  house,  with 
some  of  the  cookies  she  had  made  the  day 
previous.  Satisfied  with  this,  Clay  took  his 
hammer,  glue,  and  nails,  and  proceeded  to 
mend  a  chair  that  had  been  broken  in  the 
moving,  of  which  he  was  particularly  fond. 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          71 

He  had  made  but  little  progress  when  a 
shadow  darkened  the  door,  and  he  looked 
up  to  see  Rube  Waters  standing  watching 
him. 

"Howdy,  Rube.  Come  in  and  make  your 
self  to  home,  'stead  of  standin'  there  like 
you  was  bashful.  S'lomy  ain't  here." 

"Howdy,  Mr.  Clay,"  Rube  answered,  as 
he  shambled  in,  and  sat  down  gingerly  on 
one  of  the  stiff  chairs.  He  sat  idly  watching 
the  other  man,  speaking  only  in  monosyl 
lables,  and  every  so  often,  shifting  his  po 
sition  uneasily.  Finally,  as  if  inaction  were 
intolerable,  he  offered  to  help  Clay. 

"Wall,  I  dunno  as  there's  anythin'  you 
kin  do,  Rube.  What  you  got  on  your  mind  ? 
You  act  nervous  like." 

This  seemed  to  startle  Rube,  for  he  turned 
white  and  dropped  his  hat. 

"Nuthin',"  he  said.  "I  bin  thinkin'— " 
He  stopped  short  again,  and  swallowed  hard. 

"Wall,"  chuckled  Clay,  "that  won't  do 
you  no  harm,  seein'  as  how  you  don't  in- 


72          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

dulge  often.  What  you  bin  thinkin'  so  hard 
about?" 

"S'lomy,"  Rube  managed  to  answer. 
With  a  desperate  clutch  on  his  courage, 
he  dashed  ahead.  "I  want  ter  marry  her, 
Mister  Clay." 

Madison  removed  the  tacks  from  his 
mouth,  slowly  and  with  deliberation. 

"I  dunno  what  you  come  tellin'  me  fur. 
If  you  think  it'd  do  any  good  fur  me  to 
speak  to  S'lomy,  yer  mistaken.  That  gaPll 
marry  who  she  sees  fit,  and  when  she  sees 
fit,  too.  Why  don't  you  speak  up  to  her  yer- 
self?" 

"  She  gits  me  fussed  up.  Started  to  yiste- 
day,  when  I  was  puttin'  up  some  curtains 
fur  her,  but  I  slipped  off  the  ladder,  and  she 
only  laffed  at  me,  and  I  lost  my  nerve.  I 
wish  you  'd  tell  her  as  how  I  think  a  power 
ful  lot  o'  her,  Mister  Clay.  She  'd  listen  to 
you,  and  she  'd  only  laff  at  me,"  Rube  said 
miserably. 

"You  durn  fool,  Rube.  Won't  do  you  no 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          73 

harm  to  be  laffed  at,  I  reckon.  She's  laffed 
at  a  heap  sight  better  men  than  you ;  some- 
thin'  like  her  mother  useter,"  Clay  said 
proudly.  He  launched  off  into  tales  of  the 
old  days  in  Kentucky,  and  Rube's  petition 
was  side-tracked. 

The  morning  wore  on,  and,  the  chair 
being  finished,  Madison  put  away  his  tools 
and  glanced  at  his  clock. 

"Time  S'lomy  was  gittin'  home.  She 
went  over  to  see  Mrs.  Red  Pete  this  mornin'. 
Have  n't  seen  Pete  'round  for  the  last 
couple  o'  days,  Rube.  Hev  you?" 

"I  seed  him  this  mornin'.  That  feller 
must  be  pretty  near  the  end  o'  his  rope, 
Mister  Clay.  When  I  left  the  store,  they  all 
was  sittin'  in  to  a  game,  then.  If  Pete  loses 
ag'in,  I'm  sorry  fur  him." 

Madison  had  no  time  to  reply,  for  just  at 
that  moment  Salomy  burst  into  the  room, 
hair  disheveled,  and  sobbing  violently. 
Both  men  looked  up,  startled  at  her  ap 
pearance.  Her  father  sprang  toward  her. 


74         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"What's  the  matter,  S'lomy?  Tell  your 
dad,"  he  pleaded. 

Her  only  answer  was  to  fling  herself  down 
into  a  chair,  deaf  to  the  questions  both  men 
hurled  at  her.  When  the  storm  of  sobs  had 
subsided,  she  rose  suddenly,  her  eyes  blazing. 

"I  met  up  with  that  coward,  Ashton 
Fowler,  on  my  way  home  from  Red  Pete's. 
He  caught  hold  o'  me,  and  kissed  me.  Ef  it 
had  n't  bin  for  a  stranger  what  come  along, 
and  knocked  him  down  -  '  She  broke  off, 
and  rushed  out  of  the  room,  and  upstairs, 
where  she  threw  herself  on  her  bed  in  a 
paroxysm  of  of  sobs. 

In  the  room  she  had  just  left,  her  father 
stamped  around,  swearing  that  he  would  kill 
Fowler  on  sight ;  cursing  his  age,  which  pre 
vented  him  from  going  after  the  man. 
Finally,  as  he  started  upstairs  to  Salomy, 
Rube  called  him  back.  He  had  been  stand 
ing  uneasily,  shifting  from  one  foot  to  the 
other,  and,  seeing  his  opportunity,  made  the 
most  of  it. 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          75 

"Say,  Mister  Clay.  You  tell  S'lomy  now 
as  how  I  want  to  marry  her.  You  kin  say 
as  how  Fowler  knows  yer  ain't  as  young  as 
yer  might  be,  and  that  if  she  was  married  to 
a  young  man  like  me,  it'd  kind  o'  frighten 
him."  He  swelled  with  importance. 

Clay  turned  for  a  last  shot. 

"Wall,  I  dunno  as  Fowler 'd  be  much 
more  afeerd  o'  you  than  he  would  be  o'  me, 
but  I  '11  tell  S'lomy  and  she  kin  decide.  You 
wait  here." 

Salomy  had  recovered  her  composure, 
but  the  fire  still  flamed  in  her  eyes.  She 
listened  to  her  father  quietly.  Then  an 
idea  occurred  to  her.  She  sat  up  straight. 

"Listen,  Dad.  I  don't  set  much  store  by 
that  weak-kneed  Rube  Waters,  but  if  he  '11 
go  out  and  put  that  sneak,  Ashton  Fowler, 
out  of  the  way,  I'll  marry  him.  But  not 
unless  he  does,"  she  said  firmly. 

"Don't  be  a  fool,  S'lomy.  That  ain't  no 
reason  to  marry  a  man,"  her  father  reasoned 
with  her. 


76         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

But  the  girl  was  obstinate. 

"It's  as  good  a  reason  as  any.  You  tell 
him  that,"  said  Salomy,  her  mind  centered 
upon  the  thought  of  Kentuckian  revenge. 

Her  father  gave  up,  and  went  down 
stairs  to  where  Rube  was  waiting.  Clay 
had  just  started  to  tell  of  Salomy's  astound 
ing  proposition  when  she  herself  appeared 
in  the  doorway. 

"  I  told  Dad  as  how  I  'd  marry  yer,  Rube 
Waters,  if  you  'd  go  out  and  use  yer  gun  on 
Ashton  Fowler.  I  won't  listen  to  yer  unless 
yer  do.  That 's  the  only  way." 

She  stood  looking  at  him.  Waters  was 
too  taken  aback  to  say  a  word.  He  shifted 
from  one  foot  to  the  other,  and  smiled  un 
easily. 

"Oh,  listen  to  reason,  S'lomy.  What  good 
would  it  do  yer  for  me  to  go  after  Fowler. 
Yer  marry  me  and  he  won't  bother  yer  any 
more,"  he  finished  lamely. 

The  scorn  in  the  girl's  eyes  flayed  him. 

"Why  don't  yer   tell  the   truth,  for  a 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          77 

change,  and  say  as  how  yer  afeered  o'  Fow 
ler?"  she  demanded. 

"I  ain't  afeerd  o'  him,"  he  protested. 
"But  it'd  do  no  good." 

"Good ?  It'd  do  no  good  to  get  a  cur  like 
him  out  oj  the  way  ? "  she  said.  "  It  'd  be  the 
best  thing  yer  ever  did  in  yer  hull  life." 

She  waited  a  moment. 

"Well,  what  are  yer  goin'  to  do?"  she 
said  with  ominous  quiet. 

Waters  picked  up  his  hat. 

"I'll  think  about  it,  S'lomy."  And  with 
out  looking  at  her,  he  shuffled  out. 

He  had  no  idea  of  carrying  out  her  wish, 
but  for  some  reason,  impossible  to  explain, 
he  started  off  in  the  direction  of  Fowler's 
cabin,  along  the  path  which  Salomy  had 
taken  after  the  struggle. 

He  had  come  to  within  a  hundred  yards 
or  so  of  Fowler's  cabin  when  a  turn  in  the 
path  showed  him  a  crouching  figure,  just 
ahead.  Waters  dropped  behind  a  bush,  and 
watched  the  man.  He  was  a  stranger,  and 


78          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

the  idea  came  to  Rube  that  this  man  must 
be  Salomy's  champion.  When  the  stranger 
moved  on  a  bit,  Waters  gained  a  few  feet 
also.  At  last  the  man  reached  the  cabin, 
and  Waters  saw  him  draw  himself  up  and 
look  through  the  small  window ;  then  drop 
to  the  ground,  and  make  his  way  around  to 
the  door.  Rube  hurried  along  and  was  just 
in  time  to  see  the  stranger  push  in  the  door 
of  the  cabin  and  enter  quickly. 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then 
the  sound  of  voices,  Fowler's  and  the  strang 
er's,  in  dispute.  Waters,  listening  outside, 
climbed  to  a  tree  from  which  he  could  look 
into  the  cabin  and  hear  the  words  of  the  two 
men. 

They  were  standing,  looking  steadily  at 
each  other,  from  opposite  sides  of  the  rough 
table  in  the  center  of  the  cabin.  Both  were 
armed.  Neither  moved. 

It  was  apparent  that  Fowler  had  con 
templated  flight.  Scattered  garments  lay 
upon  the  bed  and  chairs,  and  a  half-filled 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          79 

bag  upon  the  table  showed  that  the  owner 
had  been  in  the  act  of  hasty  packing  when 
interrupted.  Beside  it  were  the  remains  of 
a  hasty  meal,  a  hunting-knife,  and  several 
books,  the  latter  unusual  accompaniments 
of  a  miner's  life  and  an  indication  of  Fow 
ler's  polished  veneer. 

Finally  the  stranger  broke  the  silence. 

"Do  you  know  what  I'm  here  for?" 

"Well,  I  suppose  it's  about  Salomy. 
What's  she  to  you?"  said  Fowler. 

"What's  your  name?"  continued  the 
stranger,  ignoring  the  question. 

"It's  none  of  your  business,"  Fowler  re 
torted,  breathing  shortly.  "  But  just  to  give 
you  a  lesson  in  politeness,  I  '11  tell  you  that 
it's  Fowler  —  Ashton  Fowler.  Does  that 
satisfy  you?" 

"No,  it  does  n't.  It's  a  damned  lie,  and 
you  know  it.  Your  name's  Thomas  Ken 
dall.  I've  been  looking  for  you  for  a  long 
time.  Been  trailing  you  all  the  way  from 
St.  Louis,  and  now  I've  got  you." 


8o          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Fowler's  face  was  ashen,  but  he  brazened 
it  out. 

"  You  Ve  got  the  wrong  man,"  he  panted. 
"My  name's  Fowler,  all  right,  I  tell  you. 
Look  here;  see,  my  name's  in  these  books." 

He  turned  to  the  table  to  take  up  one  of 
the  volumes  as  proof.  With  apparent  in 
terest,  the  stranger  approached  as  if  to  look 
at  the  inscription,  but  with  a  lightning 
spring,  quick  as  a  cat,  he  threw  himself  upon 
Fowler,  pinning  both  arms  to  his  side.  The 
force  of  the  blow  sent  Fowler's  pistol  spin 
ning  to  the  floor,  while,  with  a  sudden 
twist,  the  stranger  released  his  victim  and 
sent  him  crashing  against  the  wall  of  the 
cabin. 

In  silence,  never  letting  his  eyes  leave 
the  other's  face,  he  picked  up  the  weapon, 
weighed  it  in  his  hand  for  a  moment,  and 
finally  pitched  it  through  the  open  window, 
followed  by  his  own  gun.  Content  with  his 
action,  he  then  reached  inside  his  shirt  and 
drew  out  two  photographs,  one  of  a  man  and 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          81 

the  other  of  a  girl.  He  flashed  them  before 
Fowler's  terror-stricken  gaze. 

"Did  you  ever  see  those  two  faces  be 
fore?"  he  asked,  in  a  voice  so  low  and  tense 
that  Waters  could  scarcely  hear.  "One's 
Elizabeth  Dart,  my  sister,  God  help  her, 
and  the  other  one  is  Thomas  Kendall,  one 
of  the  lowest  sneaks  in  God's  creation." 

The  stranger's  voice  shook  with  the  fury 
of  his  suppressed  emotion  as  he  continued: 

"You  can  tell  me  your  name  is  Fowler  or 
Smith  or  any  other  alias  under  which  you 
have  led  your  rascally  existence,  but  this 
picture  proves  you  the  betrayer  of  my  sis 
ter's  honor,  and  I  swore  I  'd  kill  you  for  it. 
Get  away  from  that  table,"  he  cried,  as 
Fowler  approached  the  center  of  the  room. 

Fowler's  nerve  broke.  Frantic  as  had 
been  his  desire  for  escape,  the  terror  of 
the  impending  conflict  was  greater,  and 
with  the  full  realization  upon  him,  Fowler 
welcomed  what  he  thought  was  an  open 
ing  in  his  adversary's  defense.  As  Dart 


82          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

was  in  the  act  of  replacing  the  photo 
graphs  inside  his  shirt,  Fowler  sprang  at 
him,  upsetting  the  table  in  his  onslaught, 
and  scattering  his  possessions  over  the 
floor. 

Neither  man  was  armed,  now.  Some 
vague  fury  in  the  back  of  the  stranger's 
mind  had  urged  him  to  wreak  vengeance  in 
the  elemental  way  on  this  man  he  hated, 
and  with  bare  fists  he  and  Fowler  closed  in. 

Round  and  round  the  tiny  room  they 
struggled,  crashing  against  table,  chairs, 
and  bunk.  Now  Fowler  was  sent  spinning 
to  the  floor ;  now  the  stranger  was  forced  to 
his  knees.  Blow  after  blow  fell  with  that 
peculiar,  sickening  sound  of  flesh  striking 
bare  flesh.  On  they  fought,  both  possessed 
of  a  fury  which  ignored  caution  or  fear.  The 
desire  for  revenge  in  the  one  and  the  struggle 
for  life  with  the  other  leveled  both  to  the 
stage  of  primitive  savages. 

Fowler  was  bleeding  fast  from  a  deep 
gash  in  his  cheek,  the  result  of  contact  with 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          83 

the  corner  of  the  table,  but  he  did  not 
waver  in  his  return  to  the  onslaught  of  his 
opponent  whose  burning  eyes  never  left  his 
face  for  a  moment. 

They  clenched  in  deadly  embrace.  Dart, 
with  his  left  hand  at  Fowler's  throat,  was 
gradually  strangling  the  victim,  whose 
hoarse  gasping  for  breath  became  audible 
to  Waters  as  he  watched  the  scene  with 
horror-stricken  eyes. 

Now  Fowler  was  on  his  knees  half  bent 
back.  To  steady  himself  he  placed  one  of 
his  hands  on  the  floor  behind  him.  As  he 
did  so,  his  ringers  touched  the  hunting- 
knife  which  had  fallen  to  the  ground  when 
the  table  had  been  overturned. 

A  ray  of  hope  flickered  through  his  cloud 
ing  brain.  He  grasped  the  hilt,  and,  ex 
erting  all  his  strength,  tried  to  drive  the 
weapon  into  Dart's  heart.  But  the  stranger 
saw  the  flash  of  steel,  and,  catching  Fow 
ler's  wrist  in  his  free  hand,  quickly  forced 
the  knife  from  him.  With  a  rage  beyond  all 


84          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

control,  Dart  plunged  the  blade  deep  into 
his  victim's  back.  As  he  collapsed,  Dart, 
losing  his  balance,  fell  prone  upon  the  body 
of  the  man  whose  life  he  had  sworn  to  take 
just  two  years  before. 

Outside,  Waters  waited  for  no  more.  Leap 
ing  down  from  his  vantage-point,  he  rushed 
back  to  Salomy's  house.  His  brain,  usu 
ally  so  slow,  rapidly  formulated  a  plan.  He 
would  tell  Salomy  that  he,  Rube  Waters, 
had  killed  Fowler.  She  would  never  know 
the  truth.  The  stranger  would,  of  course, 
make  his  escape  and  never  return  to  Hang- 
town,  so  that  difficulty  would  not  have  to 
be  surmounted. 

Once  back  at  the  Clay  house,  Rube 
knocked  at  the  door.  There  was  no  an 
swer.  He  rapped  again,  but,  having  failed 
to  elicit  any  response,  he  called  Salomy's 
name.  One  of  the  squaws  glided  out,  and 
in  her  halting  English,  and  with  a  sweep  of 
her  arm,  conveyed  to  him  the  knowledge 
that  Salorny  and  her  father  had  gone  some 


A  LADY'S  COMMAND          85 

distance.  Surmising  that  they  had  ridden 
to  the  General  Store,  Rube  turned  without 
a  word  and  bent  his  steps  in  that  direction, 
steadily  gaining  courage  to  follow  out  his 
plan  of  winning  the  girl's  promise  to  marry 
him. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    VIGILANTES 

JOE  HALL,  the  sheriff,  handled  the  rib 
bons  with  the  same  assurance  and  dexterity 
as  Yuba  Bill,  with  perhaps  less  regard  for 
the  comfort  of  the  occupants  of  the  coach. 
As  the  horses  ran  free  along  the  curving 
road  which  followed  the  contour  of  the 
slopes,  their  sweating  flanks  glistening  from 
the  shafts  of  sunlight  which,  piercing  the 
thick  foliage,  ribboned  the  shaded  road  with 
almost  mathematical  precision,  the  coach 
lumbered  behind,  making  the  turns  with 
protesting  sound.  Its  passengers  were 
thrown  first  one  way  and  then  another,  a 
matter  of  small  concern  to  all  except  Yuba 
Bill,  whose  wound  caused  him  some  pain. 

Yuba  had  regained  consciousness  as  the 
others  lifted  him  into  the  coach  and  with  it 
the  power  of  invective. 


THE  VIGILANTES  87 

"Of  all  the  dodgasted  sons  of  slinkin' 
Peter,  them  —  ouch  —  them  two  cowardly 
skunks  beat  hell.  If  I  can  git  my  hands  on 
'em,  or  even  one  hand,  by  G — d,  I  '11  make 
'em  sorry  they  ever  see  the  light  o'  this  yer 
world,"  exclaimed  Yuba,  between  gasps  of 
pain  which  shot  from  his  arm  through  his 
tremendous  bulk. 

The  Colonel  edged  in  between  the  lady 
and  the  wounded  man,  and  during  the  in 
tervals  of  adjusting  his  somewhat  unruly 
ruff  and  guiding  his  tall  hat  on  an  even  keel 
with  each  lunge  of  the  vehicle,  remarked :  — 

"The  Vigilantes,  my  dear  sah,  the  Vigi 
lantes  —  er  —  will  take  immediate  steps 
to  track  those  dastardly  ruffians.  I  shall 
pledge  myself,  as  I  consider  it  my  duty,  to 
arouse  our  committee  to  immediate  action. 
This  poor  lady,  —  you,  madam,  —  have 
every  right  to  the  consideration  and  —  er 
-  to  the  services  of  the  Vigilantes,  who, 
I  trust,  ere  long  will  return  to  you,  intact, 
your  possessions." 


88          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"My  all,"  sobbed  the  victim,  who, 
through  the  loss  of  her  reticule,  and  con 
sequently  her  handkerchief,  was  forced  to 
apply  her  dust-covered  sleeve  to  remove  the 
tears  which  had  already  lined  her  face  as 
they  trickled  down  her  cheeks. 

Her  remark  suddenly  recalled  to  Yuba 
his  winnings  of  the  night  before,  and  as  he 
painfully  felt  of  his  empty  pockets,  there 
broke  forth  a  volley  of  oaths  which  did 
honor  to  a  country  well  versed  in  profan 
ity. 

The  way  to  Hangtown  seemed  long,  de 
spite  the  speed  with  which  the  sheriff  drove. 
The  road  appeared  endless  with  its  varied 
curves,  now  up  and  over  deeply  wooded 
rises,  fragrant  and  still,  except  for  the  oc 
casional  sound  of  water,  running  free  amid 
the  waving  ferns  and  grasses  of  the  open 
land.  The  riders  kept  pace,  talking  loudly 
and  always  of  the  hold-up,  while  Hamlin 
and  Larrabee  perched  in  silence  on  the  top 
of  the  coach  lost  in  thought,  the  latter  still 


THE  VIGILANTES  89 

brooding  with  a  slowly  dawning  idea  be 
coming  fixed  in  his  mind. 

As  the  Hangtown  General  Store  came 
into  sight  at  the  turn  of  the  road  leading  to 
the  little  settlement,  an  unusual  number  of 
persons  appeared  gathered  in  knots  on  the 
porch  and  in  the  road.  An  excitement  pre 
vailed  which  seemed  to  indicate  other  news 
than  that  of  the  hold-up. 

As  the  sheriff  drew  up,  the  volley  of  ques 
tions  fired  at  him  were  offset  by  the  shrill 
notes  of  Mother  Brayley's  voice  conveying 
the  amazing  information,  "Fowler's  kilt, 
Fowler's  kilt.  The  foin  gintleman  he  was, 
too,  and  ther  blackguard  what  done  it, 
runnin'  free." 

"She's  right,"  "T  is  a  fact,  Joe,"  chimed 
in  several  others ;  while  questionings  as  to 
the  hold-up,  Yuba's  condition,  the  extent 
of  the  robbery,  the  appearance  of  the  rob 
bers,  and  many  others  of  less  importance 
filled  the  air. 

Mr.  Hamlin  had  alighted,  and,  with  his 


90         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

closely  buttoned  figure  and  self-contained 
air,  was  a  marked  contrast  to  those  about 
him.  He  never  allowed  his  philosophy  to 
interfere  with  decisive  and  prompt  action. 
With  a  glance  toward  Joe  Hall,  the  sheriff, 
and  with  a  sweep  of  the  arm  which  em 
braced  all,  he  began :  - 

"It  appears  that  Hangtown  has  met  with 
a  double  disaster.  The  coach  has  been  held 
up,  robbed,  and  our  excellent  friend,  Yuba, 
has  been  wounded  by  two  unknown  men, 
who,  it  is  my  misfortune  to  state,  have 
escaped.  Mr.  Fowler  has  met  with  an  un 
timely  end  in  a  manner  which  I  am  told 
leads  to  the  belief  that  it  was  the  work  of 
one  man  and  a  mighty  strong  one  at  that. 
Upon  us  is  placed  the  duty  and  honor  to  dis 
cover  these  criminals  and  to  deal  with  them 
in  accordance  with  justice,  and  I  suggest 
that  we  part  for  the  time  being  to  call  to 
gether  the  Vigilantes  and  discuss  how  best 
this  miserable  business  can  be  soonest 
settled." 


THE   VIGILANTES  91 

"A  suggestion  that  does  you  honor,"  ex 
claimed  the  Colonel,  ineffectively  trying  to 
assist  Yuba  to  the  ground.  "Let  us  by  all 
means  call  a  meeting  of  the  Vigilantes  and 
all  attend  who  may  shed  light  —  er  —  or 
knowledge  on  this  sad  catastrophe." 

Meanwhile,  Hamlin  quietly  opened  the 
door  of  the  coach,  and,  taking  the  lady's 
hand  in  his,  with  that  decision  of  character 
a  hesitating  and  undecided  sex  knows  how 
to  admire,  gracefully  assisted  her  to  the 
ground. 

"You  fellers  better  be  darned  quick,  er 
the  sneakin'  rascals  will  be  outer  here  'fore 
yer  know  it,"  remarked  Yuba  wisely.  And 
so  it  was  determined  to  meet  in  half  an 
hour,  an  interval  passed  in  gleaning  the  full 
particulars  of  both  mysteries,  and  more 
especially  an  itemized  and  slightly  exag 
gerated  description  on  the  part  of  the  un 
fortunate  lady  of  her  personal  losses. 

The  Clays,  father  and  daughter,  chanced 
to  be  on  their  way  to  the  settlement  when 


92         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

a  passing  rider  told  them  of  the  happenings, 
and  hastened  their  pace.  To  Salomy  the 
report  of  the  murder  came  as  a  bolt  from 
the  blue.  Her  rage  at  Fowler's  sudden  pas 
sion  and  brutality,  and  her  desire  for  in 
stant  retaliation  and  revenge,  had  given 
place  to  a  hatred  which  only  those  who  have 
lived  in  the  open  places,  where  punishment 
cannot  be  adequately  secured  by  law,  can 
understand.  Her  command  to  Rube  Waters 
had  not  taken  effect  at  the  time,  she  thought, 
and  she  had  not  felt  any  security  in  his  halt 
ing  words.  She  did  not  love  him  and  it  was 
only  the  blind  desire  for  vengeance  that  led 
her  into  a  promise  of  marriage.  Now  that 
the  deed  was  done,  her  mind  immediately 
reverted  to  Waters,  and  she  began  to  real 
ize  what  her  rash  act  meant.  It  was  with 
chilled  heart  and  stony  face  that  she  con 
tinued  on  her  way,  replying  in  monosyl 
lables  to  her  father's  few  remarks  on  the 
subject. 
Arrived  at  the  store,  they  found  it  de- 


THE  VIGILANTES  93 

serted  by  all  except  Peleg,  the  faithful,  who 
told  them  that  the  Vigilantes  were  meeting 
up  beyond  the  three  pines,  and  without 
waiting  for  their  supplies,  they  continued 
on  until  the  sound  of  voices,  both  shrill  and 
rumbling,  told  that  the  meeting  was  already 
in  progress. 

"One  at  a  time,  my  good  friends."  The 
voice  was  that  of  Colonel  Starbottle.  "One 
at  a  time,  please.  In  order  to  conduct  this 
meeting  in  all  fairness,  I  beg  of  you  to 
adopt  —  er  —  a  proper  method  of  proce 
dure." 

"Thet's  all  right,  Cunn'el,  but  fer  G— d's 
sake,  let's  git  somewhar,"  said  Yuba,  "else 
them  fellers '11  soon  be  outer  reach." 

As  the  Clays  came  into  view,  Mr.  Ham- 
lin,  his  hand  raised  bespeaking  silence, 
spoke  with  firm  authority  :  — 

"I  suggest  that,  without  further  delay, 
ten  of  the  boys  ride  to  the  point  this  side  of 
the  Gulch  where  the  coach  was  held  up,  and 
track  in  from  there;  that  three  others  take 


94         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

the  Wingdam  road  and  block  off  any  chance 
the  rascals  have  of  getting  out  of  the  woods ; 
the  rest  can  beat  in  from  here  and  round 
up  at  the  Gulch.  They  cannot  remain  in 
these  woods  without  food,  and  it  will  be  a 
surprise  to  me  if  we  don't  strike  their  trail 
before  night,  heading  for  the  Forks  or 
Wingdam.  Any  one  fool  enough  to  hold  up 
Yuba's  outfit  with  the  small  chance  for 
booty  must  be  pretty  hard  up  or  else 
locoed." 

There  was  general  assent,  except  from 
Larrabee,  who  stood  on  the  outside  of  the 
ring  vehemently  chewing  at  the  end  of  a 
pine  chip,  his  hands  thrust  deep  into  his 
pockets.  Since  the  Clays'  arrival,  his  eyes 
had  been  glued  upon  the  old  man.  He 
seemed  forgetful  of  every  one  else  until 
Hamlin  had  finished. 

Quickly  shifting  his  position  to  one  of 
menace,  he  spoke  haltingly:  — 

"  I  don't  believe  yer  need  ter  go  through 
all  them  motions  ter  get  them  fellers  what 


THE  VIGILANTES  95 

robbed  the  coach.    Instid,  why  don't  yer 
ask  Clay  whar  he's  bin  all  day." 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  and  then, 
as  the  accusation  dawned  upon  the  crowd, 
the  old  man,  with  an  oath,  launched  his 
body  at  Larrabee,  clutching  him  by  the 
throat.  So  sudden  was  the  attack  that 
Larrabee,  caught  off  his  guard,  lost  his 
balance  and  fell,  carrying,  not  only  Clay, 
but  the  Colonel,  as  he  pitched  to  the  ground. 
Almost  simultaneously,  Hamlin  and  the 
sheriff  were  upon  the  prostrate  forms,  and 
with  the  aid  of  others,  soon  tore  them 
apart. 

"Lemme  git  5im,"  panted  Clay.  "That 
God  should  ever  create  sech  a  mean  liar  - 
Hands  off,  d'  yer  hear,  you!"  And  the  old 
man  struggled  with  all  his  might  to  free 
himself  from  the  friendly  hands  that  held 
him  back,  while  the  crowd  joined  in  their 
appraisals  of  the  contending  parties. 

" Larrabee 's  a  dirty  liar." 

"He's  nuthin'  but  er  coward." 


96         SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"Thinks  he  can  settle  his  feud  with  yer 
by  gittin'  some  one  else  ter  do  the  trick." 

"A  sneak,  a  sneak,"  piped  in  a  childish 
voice. 

The  sheriff  ended  the  discussion  as  his 
voice  thundered  out :  - 

"Thar '11  be  no  settlin'  o'  Kentucky  feuds 
in  this  here  country,  not  so  long  as  Joe 
Hall's  sheriff.  Don't  none  o'  you  fergit  it, 
either." 

Salomy,  meanwhile,  a  forced  spectator, 
her  ringers  burning  into  her  palms,  the 
color  gone  from  her  face,  had  forgotten  all 
thought  of  Fowler  until  a  hand  stole  around 
her  arm,  drawing  her  away  from  the  center 
of  the  group,  which,  with  every  act  of  friend 
liness,  was  showing  her  father  the  absurdity 
of  Larrabee's  assertion. 

"I  want  ter  tell  yer  somethin',  Salomy," 
whispered  Rube  in  her  ear.  "Don't  yer 
mind  Larrabee;  he's  nuthin'  but  a  lyin' 
coward  an'  he's  bin  drunk  for  two  days." 

"Wait,  wait,"  pleaded  the  girl. 


THE  VIGILANTES  97 

"I  can't,  I've  got  ter  go  with  the  Vigi 
lantes.  They're  goin'  now."  And  he  drew 
her  toward  his  horse  a  few  yards  away. 

"I  dun  it,"  continued  Rube  shakily,  his 
eyes  shifting  as  he  spoke. 

"How?"  asked  Salomy,  the  word  com 
ing  huskily,  with  a  catch  in  her  throat,  as 
she  thrust  him  before  her  with  searching 
gaze. 

"I  crept  in  upon  him  at  his  cabin  last 
night.  He  was  readin'  some  papers  with  his 
back  to  the  door.  I  got  in  afore  he  heard 
me,  or  leastways,  he  turned  so  sudden-like 
thet  he  knocked  my  gun  outer  my  hand  an' 
we  clinched."  Rube  paused  and  moistened 
his  parched  lips. 

"Then  we  fought,  Salomy.  My  G — d! 
how  we  did  fight.  His  hands  at  my  neck, 
but  I  threw  him  again  and  again.  Ther  was 
a  knife  on  the  table  an'  he  grabbed  it,  an' 
I  thought  as  how  I  wuz  done  fer,  but  we 
clinched  again,  an'  I  bent  back  his  wrist,  an' 
byme  by,  slow-like,  I  forced  his  hand  an' 


98          SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

got  it,  an'  back  he  came  at  my  throat.  G — d ! 
I  was  all  in.  I  could  n't  see  nuthin',  but  as 
he  held  my  throat,  I  got  my  right  arm 
around  behind  an'  struck  ez  hard  ez  I  could, 
an'  he  fell.  I  killed  him  same  ez  I  said  I 
would.  AnJ  now,  Salomy,  will  yer  marry 
me?"  Rube  glanced  falteringly  into  the 
clear,  searching  eyes  which  seemed  to  read 
his  mind  with  terrifying  accuracy. 

"Will  yer?"  he  pleaded. 

"Mebbe,"  replied  Salomy  thoughtfully. 
"But—" 

Before  either  she  or  Rube  could  continue 
the  discussion,  the  sheriff  broke  in  on  them. 

"If  you  cal'late  to  come  at  all,  Rube,  git 
into  yer  saddle,  and  quit  yer  philanderin'," 
he  said  sharply.  "Scuses  to  yer,  Miss  Sa 
lomy,  but  we  gotter  be  off." 

The  first  and  second  detachments  of  the 
Vigilantes  had  already  started  in  search  of 
the  robbers  of  the  stage-coach,  and  as  Rube 
scrambled  into  the  saddle,  the  third  group, 
with  the  sheriff  in  the  lead,  wheeled  their 


THE  VIGILANTES  99 

horses  and  swung  along  the  road  to  the 
south. 

Salomy  watched  them  until  they  had 
passed  out  of  sight  in  a  cloud  of  dust.  Then, 
joining  her  father,  who  was  still  in  excited 
conversation  with  one  of  the  older  men,  she 
suggested  that  they  start.  Their  horses 
were  secured,  and  father  and  daughter  took 
the  road  for  home. 


CHAPTER  IX 

AN  ERRANT  BRACELET 

IT  was  a  quiet,  subdued  Salomy  Jane  who 
went  about  her  household  duties  the  next 
morning.  Now  that  she  had  had  time  to 
reflect  during  the  long  hours  of  the  night, 
she  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
a  serious  affair  for  her,  this  killing  of  Fowler 
in  cold  blood  and  for  personal  revenge.  Rube 
would  certainly  never  have  killed  him  had 
she  not  insisted  in  her  fury,  she  said  to  her 
self,  over  and  over  again  as  the  recollection 
haunted  her.  She  was  not  easily  fright 
ened,  but  a  cold  fear  struck  at  her  heart 
every  time  the  possibility  of  the  Vigi 
lantes  discovering  Rube  to  be  the  murderer 
flashed  through  her  mind.  There  was  no 
reasonable  doubt,  if  this  happened,  that 
he  would  be  hung  to  the  nearest  tree,  in 
quick  time.  It  was  a  life  for  a  life  in  that 


AN  ERRANT  BRACELET      101 

country,  and  motives  were  not  considered. 
It  would  be  just  like  Rube  to  tell  the  whole 
story  if  he  were  caught,  she  thought,  and 
then  what?  The  whole  countryside  would 
consider  her  the  murderer  of  both  men. 
Added  to  all  this  mental  torture  was  the 
realization  that,  even  if  Rube  were  not 
accused  of  the  crime  and  punished  for  it, 
she  had  given  him  her  word  of  honor  to 
marry  him.  The  little  line  between  her 
brows  deepened.  How  she  despised  him! 
Even  with  his  assurance  that  he  had  com 
plied  with  her  wish,  Salomy  was  not  con 
vinced.  She  could  not  picture  him  in  hand- 
to-hand  conflict  with  a  man  so  greatly  his 
physical  superior  as  Fowler,  and  it  was  even 
more  of  a  mystery  that  he  had  been  the 
victor  in  the  struggle.  The  thought  of  her 
father  brought  but  little  solace.  He  might 
not  consider  Waters  an  ideal  husband  for 
her,  but  he  would  be  sure  to  take  the  view 
that,  having  made  a  bargain,  it  was  her 
duty  to  keep  it.  The  whole  affair  was  a  dis- 


102        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

tressing  tangle,  and  for  the  first  time  in  her 
life,  the  girl  was  thoroughly  sick  at  heart. 

Her  train  of  thought  was  broken  by  the 
clatter  of  hoofs,  and  hurrying  out,  she  met 
her  father  as  he  rode  up  to  the  door. 

"Any  news,  Dad?"  she  hastened  to  ask. 

"Not  yet,  S'lomy.  None  o'  the  Vigilantes 
is  back  yet.  They  bin  beatin'  about  all 
night,  but  they  ain't  found  none  o'  the 
rascals.  We  'd  'a'  heared  them  if  they 
had." 

"Who  do  yer  suppose  held  up  the  coach, 
Dad  ?  Don't  no  one  have  any  idea  down  to 
the  store?" 

"Wall,  S'lomy,  if  thar's  any  one  with 
any  ideas,  he's  keepin'  'em  to  himself,  thet's 
sure.  But  don't  you  worry  your  head  with 
the  hold-up.  Fowler's  all  you  got  ter  think 
over." 

Salomy  sighed,  and  went  on  with  her 
work  again.  A  few  minutes  later  she  stood 
up  decisively,  and  put  down  the  braid  mat 
she  was  mending.  She  would  go  over  to  see 


AN  ERRANT  BRACELET      103 

Mrs.  Red  Pete.  Any  settled  work  for  the 
morning  was  out  of  the  question  with  this 
tumult  in  her  brain,  and  it  would  do  her 
good  to  "talk  it  over"  with  a  woman.  Call 
ing  to  the  squaw  in  the  kitchen  that  she 
would  be  back  in  an  hour  or  so,  she  set  out 
for  her  neighbor's. 

Just  before  she  reached  the  house,  she 
met  two  of  the  children,  Jinny  and  Caroline. 
They  had  been  playing  around  one  of  the 
fallen  trees,  which,  in  its  immensity  con 
stituted  a  playhouse  for  them.  Part  of  one 
side  had  been  gouged  out,  and  the  children 
were  snugly  ensconced,  dressing  their  rag 
dolls  in  nondescript  garments,  and  croon 
ing  softly  to  themselves.  Catching  sight  of 
Salomy,  they  sprang  up,  calling  to  her  joy 
fully,  and  tumbling  to  meet  her.  There  was 
a  scramble  of  arms  and  legs  for  a  moment, 
as  both  children  threw  themselves  into  her 
arms,  and  both  begged  her  to  stop  and  play 
with  them. 

"I'm  goin'  over  to  see  your  mother,  chil- 


104        SALOMY  JANE'S   KISS 

dren.  I  can't  stop  now  to  play  with  you," 
Salomy  said  shortly. 

The  disappointment  on  each  little  face 
was  acute ;  the  rag  dolls  lay  in  a  disconsolate 
heap,  until  Jinny  had  a  bright  idea. 

"Wall,  Ma  won't  be  able  to  pay  no  'ten- 
tion  to  you,  noways.  She  shooed  us  away 
'cause  she  had  so  much  to  do.  Told  us  to 
git  out  o'  the  way.  Mebbe,  most  likely, 
she'll  tell  you  that,  too.  You  better  stay 
here  with  us  —  for  a  little  bit,  anyway. 
Please  do,  S'lomy." 

Salomy  laughed,  welcoming  a  brief  dis 
traction. 

"You  little  trickster,  Jinny.  All  right. 
I  '11  stay  a  bit.  What  '11  we  play  ? " 

Jinny  wanted  to  play  an  hilarious  game 
of  "I  Spy,"  and  Caroline,  being  in  the  habit 
of  giving  in  to  her  elders,  was  agreeable. 
Thereupon  the  forest  rang  with  the  shouts  of 
the  three  of  them  for  the  next  hour,  as  one 
game  led  to  another,  until  Salomy  sank 
down  breathless,  and  said  she  must  be  off. 


AN  ERRANT  BRACELET      105 

"Tell  us  jest  one  fairy  tale,  S'lomy,  be 
fore  you  go.  Please,  please,"  they  pleaded, 
and  Salomy  gathered  them  both  onto  the 
huge  log.  Never  before  had  these  children 
heard  of  such  things  as  she  told  them.  Back 
in  Kentucky,  her  father  had  once  brought 
her  a  gayly  colored  book  of  fairy  tales,  and 
as  a  child  she  had  devoured  them.  Now  she 
passed  them  on,  in  her  own  quaint  versions, 
to  these  children,  starving  for  them. 

The  story  was  finished,  and  Jinny  settled 
back  with  a  sigh  of  content.  The  tale  had 
been  of  a  beautiful  princess,  who  had  tossed 
her  golden  ball  into  the  fountain,  and  of  the 
frog  who  had  saved  it  for  her.  The  little  girl 
laughed. 

"Wall,  S'lomy,  that  princess  had  a  gold 
ball,  but  me  and  Car'line  has  somethin'  jest 
as  good,  ain't  we,  Car'line?" 

Caroline  nodded  placidly.  "Show  it  to 
her,  Jinny." 

Jinny  dived  into  the  recesses  of  their 
treasure-house  and  brought  out  a  bauble 


io6        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

that  glittered  and  flashed  in  the  sunshine. 
She  wiped  it  on  her  dress,  and  then  proudly 
showed  it  to  Salomy.  It  was  a  thick  brace 
let  of  gold,  ornately  carved,  and  sparkling 
with  garish  imitations  of  precious  stones. 
No  one  in  that  section  of  the  country  had 
anything  so  gorgeous  as  this,  and  Salomy 
looked  at  it  in  wonder. 

"Whar  on  earth  did  yer  git  this,  Jinny? 
Ain't  it  beautiful?"  she  said. 

"Oh,  Dad  guv  it  to  Ma,  and  she  'lowed 
as  it  war  n't  no  good  to  her,  she  guv  it  to 
me  and  Car'line.  Car'line's  goin'  to  wear  it 
one  day  and  me  the  next.  You  put  it  on, 
now.  You  kin  wear  it  whenever  you  want 
to,  S'lomy.  Can't  she,  Car'line  ? " 

Salomy  slipped  it  over  her  rounded  arm. 
"How  pretty  it  looks,  don't  it,  children?" 
she  asked,  slipping  it  up  and  down.  "But 
whar  on  earth  did  your  pa  git  such  a  thing  ? " 

"Oh,  we  heared  him  tellin'  Ma  how  he'd 
made  a  heap  o'  money  on  some  cattle  he 
sold  t'other  day.  Ma  'lowed  how  some  o' 


AN  ERRANT  BRACELET      107 

the  money  'd  do  her  more  good  and  us 
kids,  too,  so  she  did  n't  want  no  bracelet." 

"Wall,  you're  mighty  lucky  young  uns 
to  git  such  a  handsome  thing.  You  want  to 
hang  onto  it  until  you're  growed  up,  and 
then  it  '11  do  you  more  good.  Come  along 
to  your  house,  now.  We  spent  a  lot  o'  time 
here,  and  I  won't  have  much  time  with 
your  ma." 

The  three  of  them  started  off,  the  children 
skipping  along  on  either  side  of  Salomy. 
Hardly  had  they  covered  any  ground,  when 
they  heard  the  sound  of  shots,  the  beating 
of  hoofs,  and  the  excited  shouts  of  riders. 

Salomy  gathered  the  children  to  one  side 
of  the  path  just  as  a  group  of  horsemen  tore 
by.  Catching  sight  of  the  little  party,  they 
pulled  rein,  and  brought  their  animals  up 
standing,  and  turning,  cantered  back.  The 
leader  slipped  to  the  ground,  and  Salomy 
recognized  him  as  Andy  Bartlett,  the  head 
of  one  squad  of  the  Vigilantes,  whom  she 
had  last  seen  the  day  before  at  the  store. 


io8        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"Howdy, Miss  S'lomy,"  he  said.  "Reckon 
as  how  we  give  you  a  start.  Sorry;  didn't 
mean  to  frighten  you." 

"Oh,  you  ain't  no  call  to  worry.  You 
did  n't  frighten  me.  But  I  'low  as  how  these 
yer  children  is  scared  out  'n  their  boots  by 
the  racket  you  Vigilantes  make.  Ain't  yer 
found  them  fellers  yet?"  Salomy  inquired 
with  as  much  unconcern  as  she  was  able 
to  command. 

"Not  a  sign  o'  them,"  he  said.  "An' 
what 's  more,  we  ain't  found  the  chap  what 
knifed  Fowler  yet.  We  got  a  big  day's  work 
ahead  o'  us." 

Among  the  riders  Salomy  saw  Yuba  Bill, 
his  arm  bound  up,  but  sitting  his  horse  stol 
idly  as  if  he  were  glued  there. 

"Hullo,  Yuba,"  she  called.  "Did  n't  git 
a  chance  to  speak  to  you  yisterday.  Sorry 
them  chaps  got  you.  Your  arm  any  better 
to-day?" 

"Guess  I'll  live  through  it,  S'lomy.  It 
ain't  any  worse,  nohow,  so  I'm  able  to  be 


AN  ERRANT  BRACELET      109 

around,  anyway."  He  hesitated  for  a  min 
ute,  then  said,  "'Long  as  you're  here, 
S'lomy,  would  yer  mind  doin'  sutthin' 
fer  me  ?  This  here  rag  'round  my  arm  has 
come  undid  and  slid  down.  Will  yer  tie  it 
up  fer  me  ?  This  gang  here  is  like  a  pack  of 
Injuns  when  it  comes  ter  hospital  service." 

"'Course  I'll  do  it,  Yuba.  Slide  down 
here,  and  I'll  fix  it  for  yer,"  she  said 
warmly. 

Yuba  slid  his  ponderous  bulk  from  the 
saddle,  and  stood  waiting  for  her  to  arrange 
the  bandage.  But  as  she  lifted  her  hands  to 
his  arm,  the  sun  glinted  on  the  bracelet  she 
wore,  and  before  he  could  repress  it,  he 
blurted  out,  "Whar  on  earth  'd  you  git 
that  thing,  S'lomy?"  pointing  to  the  orna 
ment  in  amazement. 

The  next  moment  he  cursed  himself  for 
his  foolishness.  The  attention  of  the  whole 
group  was  drawn  to  the  girl's  arm,  and  they 
crowded  closer.  Instantly  the  truth  flashed 
on  her.  That  bracelet;  the  children;  Red 


no        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Pete  having  a  lot  of  money  and  this  bauble. 
She  turned  white. 

"Never  mind  whar  I  got  it,  Yuba.  Had 
it  a  long  time,"  she  said,  as  she  went  on  with 
the  bandage. 

He  looked  at  her  steadily,  wavering  be 
tween  his  affection  for  her  and  his  duty. 
Finally  the  former  sentiment  won,  and  he 
said  no  more.  But  the  others  were  not  to 
be  put  off  so  easily.  They  had  noticed  the 
startled  expression  in  the  girl's  eyes,  and 
one  of  them  took  the  matter  up. 

"Whar'd  you  ever  see  it  afore,  Yuba?" 

Before  Yuba  had  a  chance  to  reply, 
Jinny  spoke  up:  — 

'  'T  aint  none  o'  your  business,  Luke.  I 
guv  it  to  S'lomy.  She  kin  have  anythin' 
that  belongs  to  me  and  Car'line,  can't  she, 
Car'line?" 

"And  whar'd  you  git  it?"  The  question 
snapped  from  six  tongues  at  once. 

"  Dad  guv  it  to  me,"  Jinny  said  proudly, 
and  Salomy  groaned. 


AN  ERRANT  BRACELET      in 

Bedlam  broke  loose.  The  men  all  shouted 
different  questions  at  each  other.  Yuba, 
satisfied  that  Salomy  had  nothing  to  do 
with  it,  swore  that  it  was  the  bracelet  the 
woman  had  been  robbed  of  on  his  ill-fated 
coach,  and,  wild  with  fury,  the  Vigilantes 
swept  off,  hard  on  the  trail  of  Red  Pete. 
There  was  now  no  doubt  that  he  had  had  a 
hand  in  the  hold-up.  He  had  been  absent 
for  two  days  before;  he  had  returned  with 
an  abundance  of  gold-pieces ;  and  now  here 
was  one  of  his  children  wearing  the  very 
bracelet  the  unfortunate  woman  had  lost. 

Salomy  did  not  even  wait  to  answer  the 
questions  of  the  puzzled  children,  but  hur 
ried  off  with  them  to  their  home. 

Meanwhile,  riding  at  a  furious  clip,  the 
Vigilantes  swept  around  to  the  further  end 
of  Red  Pete's  straggling  pastures.  Hiding 
in  the  wood,  they  looked  across,  and  saw 
him  with  his  boon  companion,  Bill  Galla 
gher,  pretending  to  plough  a  piece  of  land. 
Both  men's  horses  were  tied  to  a  tree  near 


ii2        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

them,  and  it  could  be  seen  that  they  were 
deep  in  conversation. 

Suddenly  the  leader  of  the  Vigilantes 
touched  his  horse  with  his  spur,  and  gal 
loped  toward  Pete  and  Gallagher.  Quick 
as  a  flash,  they  realized  their  crime  had 
been  discovered  and  they  ran  for  their 
horses.  Bartlett  fired,  but  missed,  and  at 
the  signal  the  rest  of  the  Vigilantes  raced 
after  him.  On  they  came,  when  Bartlett's 
horse  stumbled,  causing  them  all  to  slow  up 
for  the  space  of  a  second. 

It  was  just  enough  to  give  Red  Pete  and 
Gallagher  the  advantage.  With  a  shout 
they  were  off,  the  Vigilantes  in  hot  pursuit, 
and,  gaining  the  open  road,  they  raced  for 
the  state  line. 

There  followed  such  a  desperate  chase 
as  has  rarely  been  equaled  in  excitement 
even  in  that  country  of  ever-present  dan 
ger.  Up  over  the  hills  the  horses  galloped, 
through  dense  forest  ground,  and  over  the 
scrub.  Pete  and  Gallagher  were  gaining 


with  their  fresher  mounts,  and  coming  to 
a  steep  embankment,  shelving  down  to  the 
river,  they  turned  their  horses  toward  the 
stream. 

Spurring  the  maddened  animals  over  the 
edge,  they  slid  down,  straining  every  nerve 
to  gain  the  river.  Down  went  the  horses, 
amid  the  choking  dust  and  sliding  gravel. 
Gallagher  had  already  reached  the  river; 
Pete  was  close  behind,  when  the  ground  un 
der  his  horse  gave  way,  pitching  the  poor 
beast  forward,  and  headlong  into  the  stream 
below,  and  throwing  the  rider,  half  stunned, 
on  the  bank. 

Up  above,  the  Vigilantes  had  halted. 
Five  revolvers  were  pointed  at  Gallagher 
on  the  swimming  horse.  Five  shots  were 
fired  in  quick  succession.  Three  took  effect, 
and  toppling  over,  the  figure  of  Gallagher 
slid  under  the  swift-running  current. 

They  picked  up  Red  Pete,  too  stunned  to 
offer  resistance,  and,  binding  his  hands  se 
curely,  put  him  on  his  horse.  He  knew  only 


ii4       SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

too  well  just  what  was  in  store  for  him.  He 
asked  no  questions,  realizing  the  futility  of 
explanation  with  these  relentless  men,  and 
so,  without  a  word,  the  small  procession 
moved  back  along  the  road  in  the  direction 
of  Red  Pete's  house. 


CHAPTER  X 

TRAPPED 

THE  sound  of  his  own  hard  breathing,  the 
hum  of  the  insects,  and  the  occasional  twit 
tering  of  the  birds  in  the  trees  outside,  ac 
centuated  the  intense  stillness  which  fell 
upon  the  cabin,  as  Dart  painfully  rose  from 
the  prostrate  form  of  Fowler,  and  gazed 
upon  the  dead  man. 

Now  that  the  deed,  which  had  been  in  his 
mind,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else,  was  ac 
complished,  a  feeling  of  utter  weakness  and 
nausea  seized  him.  He  sat  with  bowed  head, 
his  hands  covering  his  eyes  to  blot  out  the 
terrible  sight  before  him,  while  the  thin  red 
line  of  blood  trickled  its  way  across  the  floor 
until  it  almost  reached  his  outstretched 
foot. 

How  long  he  remained  there  he  never 
knew.  The  glinting  rays  of  the  setting  sun, 


n6        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

finding  their  way  through  the  small  panes 
of  the  cabin  window,  played  upon  his  face, 
and  finally  woke  him  to  action.  He  must 
escape.  The  news  would  travel  quickly  in 
that  country  and  he  must  put  many  miles 
between  himself  and  Hangtown.  The  sudden 
return  of  the  instinct  of  self-preservation 
reacted  upon  him  vigorously,  and  he  arose 
with  an  effort,  to  shake  himself  free  from  the 
morbid  terror  to  which  he  had  given  way. 
Adjusting  his  clothes,  which  had  become 
torn  in  the  encounter,  he  hastily  gathered 
together  what  food  he  could  find,  and 
stepped  forth  cautiously,  listening  for  any 
sound  which  might  indicate  the  presence  of 
an  intruder.  Convinced  that  he  was  alone, 
he  looked  about  for  his  revolver,  the  barrel 
of  which  glistened  where  the  weapon  had 
fallen.  Slipping  it  in  the  holster,  he  struck 
through  the  woods,  intent  upon  avoiding 
the  settlement. 

Night  soon  fell,  making  further  progress 
impossible.  Selecting  a  spot  well  hidden  by 


TRAPPED  117 

underbrush,  he  settled  himself  for  a  night's 
vigil,  for,  despite  his  exhaustion,  the  memory 
of  his  deed  banished  all  thought  of  sleep. 
And  so  the  weary  hours  of  darkness  were 
spent  in  mental  anguish,  at  one  time  accus 
ing  himself  bitterly ;  at  others,  defending  the 
deed,  going  over  and  over  in  his  mind  his 
sister's  weakness  and  downfall ;  his  decision 
to  ignore  the  law  of  the  land,  and  to  carry 
out  his  vengeance  in  his  own  way.  Of  one 
thing  he  was  certain ;  he  had  killed  the  right 
man.  Never  did  he  feel  a  doubt  upon  this 
point,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Fowler 
had  denied  his  identity  to  the  end,  or  that 
Dart  had  never  laid  eyes  on  his  victim  be 
fore. 

With  these  thoughts  still  in  his  mind  came 
the  first  chill  of  the  dawn;  the  first  lifting 
of  the  vast  grayness,  and  the  breath  of  the 
morning  breeze.  By  the  time  the  sun  was 
up,  Dart  was  well  on  his  way.  Unaccus 
tomed  to  the  country,  and  to  the  landmarks 
about  him,  he  took  a  direction  which  led, 


n8        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

not  away  from  Hangtown,  but  diagonally 
across  the  road  leading  from  the  settlement 
to  Wingdam.  As  he  came  full  upon  the 
beaten  path,  he  heard  the  far-away,  stac 
cato  click  of  horses'  hoofs.  Quickly  retreat 
ing  behind  the  bushes  which  skirted  the 
road,  he  watched,  unseen,  as  Red  Pete  and 
his  companion  tore  by,  a  party  of  the  Vigi 
lantes  in  hot  pursuit. 

Dart  did  not  move  for  several  minutes. 
Then  being  reasonably  sure  that  the  danger 
was  past,  he  sped  along  the  road,  watching 
closely  for  other  chance  horsemen,  and  now 
and  again  taking  to  the  woods,  as  stray 
members  of  the  posse  passed.  At  the  end  of 
an  hour,  quietly  picking  his  way  through 
the  brush,  a  hundred  yards  or  so  from  the 
road,  he  heard  a  rustle  of  leaves  and  crack 
ling  of  boughs.  Jumping  to  one  side,  and 
crouching  low,  he  waited  with  bated  breath 
for  the  oncomer.  To  his  relief  and  joy  he 
saw  a  riderless  horse,  water  dripping  from 
his  flanks,  browsing  in  deep  contentment. 


TRAPPED  119 

Although  Dart  was  ignorant  of  the  fact, 
the  horse  was  the  same  animal  Gallagher 
had  been  riding  when  he  had  met  his  death. 
Unfamiliar  as  Dart  was  with  the  fine  points 
of  a  horse,  he  could  see  readily  that  this  was 
an  exceptional  animal  in  every  way.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  this  horse  of  Gallagher's  had 
been  long  a  source  of  suspicion  and  envy  in 
the  community.  It  was  the  popular  belief 
that  Gallagher  had  stolen  him,  for  that 
worthless  individual  would  hardly  have 
been  able  to  purchase  such  an  extraordi 
nary  animal.  It  was,  by  far,  the  finest 
mount  in  the  district ;  a  thoroughbred  from 
his  well-poised  head  to  his  fleet,  dainty  feet. 
Here  was  a  means  of  escape,  and  with 
great  caution  Dart  crept  upon  the  animal. 
Seizing  the  bridle,  he  mounted,  guiding  the 
horse  still  farther  into  the  woods,  thinking 
and  hoping  to  avoid  the  Vigilantes  and  to 
keep  clear  of  the  highways.  Without  realiz 
ing  the  fatality  of  the  move,  he  went  in  the 
direction  of  the  ravine,  close  to  which  the 


120       SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Hangtown  coach  had  been  held  up  the  day 
before  —  a  region  well  patrolled  by  Joe 
Hall's  gang,  who  were  still  engaged  in  the 
hunt  for  the  bandits. 

And  so,  unconsciously,  Dart  stepped  into 
the  trap  set  for  Red  Pete.  The  crackling  of 
twigs  ahead  caused  him  to  turn  and  spur 
into  a  furious  gallop,  but  hardly  had  his 
horse  got  into  his  stride  than  two  riders 
broke  from  cover  behind  him.  Once  more 
he  turned ;  the  crack  of  a  gun  from  one  of  his 
pursuers  failed  to  bring  him  to  a  halt.  The 
bullet  tore  through  the  leaves  of  the  trees 
overhead  and  went  singing  on  its  way. 
Over  stones  and  decaying  stumps  of  trees, 
up  and  down  the  uneven  country,  the  chase 
continued,  an  occasional  shot  urging  Dart 
to  greater  speed.  Pace  by  pace  he  increased 
the  distance  between  them,  and  soon  the 
hope  of  ultimate  escape  seemed  brighter. 

To  his  despair,  however,  even  as  the 
sounds  of  his  pursuers  were  growing  fainter 
and  fainter,  Dart  suddenly  found  himself 


TRAPPED  121 

confronted  by  six  other  horsemen  who  came 
galloping  toward  him,  guns  leveled.  They 
had  heard  the  shouts  and  pistol  shots,  and, 
dashing  across  the  country,  had  headed 
him  off.  The  game  was  up. 

"Hands  up!"  shouted  the  leader. 

Mechanically,  Dart  raised  his  arms,  and 
his  exhausted  horse  came  to  a  halt. 

"H — 11  of  a  fine  feller  you  be,"  remarked 
one  of  the  group,  dismounting,  "comin' 
out  here  to  Hangtown  an'  holdin'  up  the 
coach  fer  a  few  dollars.  Ef  yer  was  thet 
hard  up,  we'd  'a'  given  yer  the  cash." 

"But  now,  by  G — d,  yer '11  swing  fer  it," 
interposed  another.  "Yes,  sir,  yer '11  find 
out  why  our  place's  called  *  Hangtown,' 
sure  'nough." 

The  group  had  now  surrounded  Dart,  who 
gazed  in  amazement  at  them.  Could  it  be 
that  they  took  him  for  a  common  highway 
robber?  A  bitter  little  smile  just  touched 
his  lips  and  was  gone  as  he  considered  how 
much  more  monstrous  his  real  crime  had 


122        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

been,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  denying 
the  charge  they  made  against  him  when  it 
came  to  him  how  utterly  useless  it  would  be. 
No  one  would  believe  him,  and  to  confess 
the  murder  of  Fowler  would  be  folly.  So, 
without  a  word,  he  submitted  while  they 
bound  his  arms  tightly  behind  him,  and 
set  off  at  a  slow  pace  for  the  settlement. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  KISS  AND  AN  ESCAPE 

WHEN  Salomy  and  the  frightened  chil 
dren  reached  the  house,  Mrs.  Red  Pete  was 
nowhere  in  sight.  In  vain  they  called  to  her. 
Finally  they  concluded  that  she  must  have 
taken  some  of  the  washing  back  to  its 
owners.  There  was  nothing  to  be  done  but 
wait,  and  Salomy  set  herself  to  the  task  of 
calming  the  children's  fears,  forcing  herself 
to  tell  them  a  story  until  such  time  as  their 
mother  should  return. 

She  had  almost  finished,  when  the  sound 
of  firing  in  the  distance  brought  her  up 
straight.  Nearer  it  came,  and  in  a  moment 
the  second  detachment  of  the  Vigilantes 
swung  into  view,  with  a  man,  whose  hands 
were  bound  behind  him,  in  their  midst. 
Salomy  glanced  at  their  captive.  It  was 
the  man  who  had  saved  her  from  Fowler 


i24       SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

in  the  wood,  and,  speechless,  she  stood 
gazing  at  him.  Was  it  possible  that  he 
was  Red  Pete's  confederate?  As  conjec 
tures  raced  through  her  brain,  the  second 
party,  with  Red  Pete  in  their  midst,  rushed 
up,  just  as  Mrs.  Red  Pete,  with  her  hus 
band's  little  nephew,  Willie,  came  through 
the  woods  in  back  of  the  cabin. 

Without  a  word  the  wife  took  in  the  situ 
ation,  and  with  the  despair  of  hopelessness, 
asked  not  a  question. 

"Ef  you've  got  anything  to  say  to  your 
folks,  say  it  now,  and  say  it  quick,"  said  the 
sheriff. 

Red  Pete  glanced  around  him.  All  the 
spectators  were  accustomed  to  scenes  of 
violence,  blood-feud,  chase,  and  hardship; 
it  was  only  the  suddenness  of  the  onset  and 
its  quick  result  that  had  surprised  them. 
They  looked  on  with  dazed  curiosity  and 
some  disappointment;  there  had  been  no 
fight  to  speak  of  -  -  no  spectacle !  The 
wide-eyed,  small  nephew  got  upon  the  rain- 


A  KISS  AND  AN  ESCAPE    125 

barrel  to  view  the  proceedings  more  com 
fortably;  Salomy,  tall  and  handsome,  leaned 
against  the  doorpost,  chewing  gum.  Only 
a  yellow  hound  was  actively  perplexed.  He 
could  not  make  out  if  a  hunt  were  just  over 
or  beginning,  and  ran  eagerly  backwards 
and  forwards,  leaping  alternately  upon  the 
captives  and  the  captors. 

The  sheriff  repeated  his  challenge.  Red 
Pete  gave  a  reckless  laugh  and  looked  at 
his  wife. 

At  which  Mrs.  Red  Pete  came  forward. 
It  seemed  that  she  had  much  to  say,  in 
coherently,  furiously,  vindictively,  to  the 
sheriff.  His  soul  would  roast  in  hell  for 
that  day's  work !  He  called  himself  a  man, 
skunkin'  in  the  open  and  afraid  to  show 
himself  except  with  a  crowd  of  other  "  Ki- 
yi's"  around  a  house  of  women  and  chil 
dren.  Heaping  insult  upon  insult,  inveigh 
ing  against  his  low  blood,  his  ancestors, 
his  dubious  origin,  she  at  last  flung  out  a 
wild  taunt  of  his  invalid  wife,  the  insult  of 


126        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

a  woman  to  a  woman,  until  his  white  face 
grew  rigid,  and  only  that  Western-Ameri 
can  fetich  of  the  sanctity  of  sex  kept  his 
twitching  ringers  from  the  lock  of  his  rifle. 
Even  her  husband  noticed  it,  and  with  a 
half-authoritative  "Let  up  on  that,  old 
gal,"  and  a  pat  of  his  freed  left  hand  on 
her  back,  took  his  last  parting.  The  sheriff, 
still  white  under  the  lash  of  the  woman's 
tongue,  turned  abruptly  to  the  second  cap 
tive.  "And  if  you've  got  anybody  to  say 
'good-bye'  to,  now  's  your  chance." 

The  man  looked  up,  Nobody  stirred  or 
spoke.  He  was  a  stranger  there,  known  to 
no  one. 

The  unexpected  question  stirred  him  for 
a  moment  out  of  the  attitude  of  reckless  in 
difference,  for  attitude  it  was.  But  it  may 
have  touched  him  that  at  that  moment  he 
was  less  than  his  companions.  However,  he 
only  shook  his  head.  As  he  did  so,  his  eye 
casually  fell  on  the  handsome  girl  by  the 
doorpost,  who  was  looking  at  him.  She  was 


A  KISS  AND  AN  ESCAPE    127 

the  same  girl  he  had  saved  from  Fowler's 
advances  the  previous  day  in  the  wood,  and 
he  warmed  toward  her  as  he  reflected  that 
she  had  given  him  the  chance  to  find  Fowler. 
The  sheriff  may  have  been  touched  by  his 
complete  loneliness,  for  he  hesitated.  At 
the  same  moment  he  saw  that  the  girl  was 
looking  at  his  friendless  captive. 

A  grotesque  idea  struck  him. 

"Salomy  Jane,  ye  might  do  worse  than 
come  yere  and  say  'good-bye'  to  a  dying 
man,  and  him  a  stranger,"  he  said. 

There  seemed  to  be  a  subtle  stroke  of 
poetry  and  irony  in  this  that  equally  struck 
the  apathetic  group.  It  was  well  known 
that  Salomy  Jane  Clay  thought  no  small 
potatoes  of  herself,  for  had  she  not  held  off 
the  local  swain  with  lazy,  nymph-like  scorn  ? 
Nevertheless,  she  slowly  disengaged  herself 
from  the  doorpost,  and,  to  everybody's 
astonishment,  lounged  with  languid  grace 
and  outstretched  hand  toward  the  prisoner. 
The  color  came  into  the  gray,  reckless  mask 


128        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

which  the  doomed  man  wore,  as  her  right 
hand  grasped  his  left,  just  loosed  by  his 
captors.  Then  she  paused;  her  shy,  fawn- 
like  eyes  grew  bold,  and  fixed  themselves 
upon  him.  She  took  the  chewing-gum  from 
her  mouth,  wiped  her  red  lips  with  the  back 
of  her  hand,  by  a  sudden  lithe  spring  placed 
her  foot  on  his  stirrup,  and,  bounding  to  the 
saddle,  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck  and 
pressed  a  kiss  upon  his  lips. 

They  remained  thus  for  a  hushed  mo 
ment  —  the  man  on  the  threshold  of  death, 
the  young  woman  in  the  fullness  of  youth 
and  beauty  —  linked  together.  Then  the 
crowd  laughed ;  in  the  audacious  effrontery 
of  the  girl's  act  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  two 
men  was  forgotten.  She  slipped  languidly 
to  the  ground ;  she  was  the  focus  of  all  eyes 
-  she  only !  The  sheriff  saw  it  and  his  op 
portunity.  He  shouted:  "Time's  up — For 
ward!"  urged  his  horse  beside  his  captives 
with  a  menacing  gesture,  and  the  next 
moment  the  whole  cavalcade  was  sweep- 


A  KISS  AND  AN  ESCAPE    129 

ing  over  the  clearing  into  the  darkening 
woods. 

Their  destination  was  Sawyer's  Crossing 
Ford,  where  the  council  were  in  the  habit 
of  sitting,  and  where  each  culprit  was  to 
expiate  the  offense  of  which  that  council 
had  already  found  him  guilty.  They  rode  in 
great  and  breathless  haste  —  a  haste  in 
which,  strangely  enough,  even  the  captives 
seemed  to  join.  That  haste  possibly  pre 
vented  them  from  paying  any  attention  to 
the  second  prisoner.  Ever  since  his  cap 
ture,  he  had  maintained  an  attitude  of 
scornful  indifference.  Nor  did  they  notice 
the  singular  change  which  had  taken  place 
in  him  since  the  episode  of  the  kiss.  His 
high  color  remained,  as  if  it  had  burned 
through  his  mask  of  recklessness;  his  eyes 
were  quick,  alert,  and  keen,  his  mouth  half 
open  as  if  the  girl's  kiss  still  lingered  there. 
And  that  haste  had  made  them  careless,  for 
the  horse  of  the  man  who  led  him  slipped 
in  a  gopher-hole,  rolled  over,  unseated  his 


130        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

rider,  and  even  dragged  the  bound  and  help 
less  second  captive  from  the  horse  he  rode, 
without  doubt,  the  fleetest  mount  in  the 
cavalcade.  In  an  instant  they  were  all  on 
their  feet  again,  but  in  that  supreme  mo 
ment  the  second  captive  felt  the  cords 
which  bound  his  arms  had  slipped  to  his 
wrists.  By  keeping  his  elbows  to  his  sides, 
and  obliging  the  others  to  help  him  mount, 
it  escaped  their  notice.  By  riding  close  to 
his  captors,  and  keeping  in  the  crush  of  the 
throng,  he  further  concealed  the  accident, 
slowly  working  his  hands  downwards  out 
of  his  bonds. 

Their  way  lay  through  a  sylvan  wilder 
ness,  mid-leg  deep  in  ferns,  whose  tall  fronds 
brushed  their  horses'  sides  in  their  furious 
gallop  and  concealed  the  flapping  of  the 
captive's  loosened  cords.  The  peaceful  vista, 
more  suggestive  of  the  offerings  of  nymph 
and  shepherd  than  of  human  sacrifice,  was 
in  a  strange  contrast  to  this  whirlwind  rush 
of  stern,  armed  men.  The  westering  sun 


A  KISS  AND  AN  ESCAPE    131 

pierced  the  subdued  light  and  the  tremor 
of  leaves  with  yellow  lances;  birds  started 
into  song  on  blue  and  dove-like  wings,  and 
on  either  side  of  the  trail  of  this  vengeful 
storm  could  be  heard  the  murmur  of  hid 
den  and  tranquil  waters.  In  a  few  moments 
they  would  be  on  the  open  ridge,  whence 
sloped  the  common  turnpike  to  "  Sawyer's," 
a  mile  away.  It  was  the  custom  of  returning 
cavalcades  to  take  this  hill  at  headlong 
speed,  with  shouts  and  cries  that  heralded 
their  coming.  They  withheld  the  latter  that 
day,  as  inconsistent  with  their  dignity;  but, 
emerging  from  the  wood,  swept  silently  like 
an  avalanche  down  the  slope.  They  were 
well  under  way,  looking  only  to  their  horses, 
when  the  second  captive  slipped  his  right 
arm  from  the  bonds  and  succeeded  in  grasp 
ing  the  reins  that  lay  trailing  on  the  horse's 
neck.  A  sudden  vaquero  jerk,  which  the 
well-trained  animal  understood,  threw  him 
on  his  haunches  with  his  forelegs  firmly 
planted  on  the  slope.  The  rest  of  the  caval- 


i32        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

cade  swept  on;  the  man  who  was  leading 
the  captive's  horse  by  the  riata,  thinking 
only  of  another  accident,  dropped  the  line 
to  save  himself  from  being  dragged  back 
wards  from  his  horse.  The  captive  wheeled, 
and  the  next  moment  was  galloping  furi 
ously  up  the  slope. 

It  was  the  work  of  a  moment ;  a  trained 
horse  and  an  experienced  hand.  The  caval 
cade  had  covered  nearly  fifty  yards  before 
they  could  pull  up;  the  freed  captive  had 
covered  half  that  distance  uphill.  The  road 
was  so  narrow  that  only  two  shots  could  be 
fired,  and  these  broke  dust  two  yards  ahead 
of  the  fugitive.  The  fugitive  realized  this 
in  his  extremity  also,  and  would  have  gladly 
taken  a  shot  in  his  own  leg  to  spare  that  of 
his  horse.  Five  men  were  detached  to  re 
capture  or  kill  him.  The  latter  seemed  in 
evitable.  But  he  had  calculated  his  chances; 
before  they  could  reload  he  had  reached  the 
woods  again;  winding  in  and  out  between 
the  pillared  tree-trunks,  he  offered  no  mark. 


A  KISS  AND  AN  ESCAPE    133 

They  knew  his  horse  was  superior  to  their 
own;  at  the  end  of  two  hours  they  returned, 
for  he  had  disappeared  without  track  or  trail. 

Salomy  Jane  had  watched  the  riders  un 
til  they  had  disappeared.  Then  she  became 
aware  that  her  brief  popularity  had  passed. 
Mrs.  Red  Pete,  in  stormy  hysterics,  had 
included  her  in  a  sweeping  denunciation  of 
the  whole  universe,  possibly  for  simulating 
an  emotion  in  which  she  herself  was  defi 
cient.  The  children  admired  her  as  one  who 
had  undoubtedly  "canoodled"  with  a  man 
"a-goin'  to  be  hung"  -  a  daring  flight  be 
yond  their  wildest  ambition.  Salomy  Jane 
accepted  the  change  with  charming  uncon 
cern.  She  put  on  her  yellow  nankeen  sun- 
bonnet,  jumped  on  her  mustang  with  a  cas 
ual  display  of  agile  ankles  in  shapely  white 
stockings,  whistled  to  the  hound,  and,  with 
a  "So  long,  sonny!"  to  the  lately  bereft 
but  admiring  nephew,  flapped  and  fluttered 
away  in  her  short  brown  holland  gown. 


CHAPTER  XII 
SALOMY'S  REFLECTIONS 

"Woi's  this  yer  I'm  hearin'  of  your 
doin's  over  at  Red  Pete's?  Honey-foglin' 
with  that  feller  they  ketched  along  with 
Pete?"  said  Mr.  Clay  the  next  morning  at 
breakfast. 

"I  reckon  you  heard  about  the  straight 
thing,  then,"  said  Salomy  Jane  uncon 
cernedly,  without  looking  round. 

"What  do  you  kalkilate  Rube  will  say  to 
it?  What  are  you  goin'  to  tell  him?"  said 
Mr.  Clay  sarcastically. 

"  I  '11  tell  him  that  when  he  's  on  his  way 
to  be  hung,  I  '11  kiss  him  —  not  till  then," 
said  the  young  lady  brightly. 

This  delightful  witticism  suited  the  pa 
ternal  humor,  and  Mr.  Clay  smiled;  a  mo 
ment  afterwards,  he  said,  - 


SALOMY'S  REFLECTIONS     135 

"  But  this  yer  chap  got  away  arter  all,  so 
they  tell  me." 

Salomy  Jane  sat  up  straight.  This  was 
certainly  a  new  and  different  phase  of  the 
situation.  She  had  never  thought  of  it  be 
fore,  and,  strangely  enough,  for  the  first 
time  she  became  interested  in  the  man. 
"Got  away?"  she  repeated.  "Did  they  let 
him  off?" 

"Not  much,"  said  her  father  briefly. 
"Slipped  his  cords,  and  going  down  the 
grade  pulled  up  short,  just  like  a  vaquero 
ag'in'  a  lassoed  bull,  almost  draggin'  the 
man  leadin'  him  off  his  hoss,  and  then 
skyuted  up  the  grade.  For  that  matter,  on 
that  hoss  he  mout  have  dragged  the  whole 
posse  of  'em  down  on  their  knees  ef  he  liked ! 
But  arter  all,  I  don't  know  as  I'm  sorry. 
The  feller  had  a  durned  good  excuse  for 
what  he  did,  I  'm  thinkin'.  Them  Vigilantes 
are  allus  hangin'  onto  some  scrap  of  law. 
If  it'd  been  my  sister,  I'd  have  killed 
Fowler  myself." 


136        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Salomy's  fork  dropped  with  a  clatter,  and 
her  heart  stopped  beating.  White-faced, 
she  stood  before  her  father. 

"What  are  you  talkin'  about,  Dad?  Who 
killed  Fowler?" 

"Did  n't  yer  know?  Ain't  Rube  told  yer? 
What  'd  yer  suppose  they  ketched  the  feller 
for?  He  killed  Fowler,  of  course.  I  thought 
yer'd  heard.  'Pears  like  back  in  the  East, 
Fowler  had  acted  the  skunk  toward  this 
feller's  sister,  and  so  the  feller  killed  him 
when  he  had  the  chance.  I'm  glad  he  got 
away." 

Clay  rose  from  the  table,  and  strolled 
into  the  other,  room  to  inspect  his  gun. 

Salomy  dropped  into  a  chair  and  buried 
her  face  in  her  hands.  So  it  was  he,  and  not 
Rube,  who  had  killed  the  man  she  hated. 
Utter  contempt  for  her  weakling  lover  con 
sumed  her;  then  the  white  fury  that  had 
engulfed  her  the  day  when  Fowler  had  way 
laid  her  in  the  wood  rushed  over  her  again, 
and  with  it  came  a  strange  gratitude  to- 


SALOMY'S  REFLECTIONS     137 

ward  this  man.  She  caught  her  breath  as 
the  picture  flashed  before  her  of  the  hand 
some  young  fellow,  sitting  his  horse  so 
calmly,  facing  death;  she  felt  again  the 
cling  of  his  desperate  lips,  and  the  crush  of 
his  arms.  And  he  had  gotten  away!  She 
threw  back  her  head,  her  color  burning,  and 
with  an  effort  pulled  herself  together. 

When  her  father  came  in  again,  she  was 
her  natural  self. 

"Did  he  get  clean  away,  Dad?" 

"He  did,  and  unless  he's  fool  enough  to 
sell  the  hoss  he  kin  keep  away,  too.  So  ye 
see,  ye  can't  ladle  out  purp  stuff  about  a 
'dyin'  stranger'  to  Rube.  He  won't  swaller 
it." 

Madison  Clay  smiled  grimly,  pushed  back 
his  chair,  rose,  dropped  a  perfunctory  kiss 
on  his  daughter's  hair,  and,  taking  his 
shotgun  from  the  corner,  departed  on  a 
peaceful  Samaritan  mission  to  a  cow  who 
had  dropped  a  calf  in  the  far  pasture.  In 
clined  as  he  was  to  Reuben's  wooing  from 


138        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

his  eligibility  as  to  property,  he  was  con 
scious  that  he  was  sadly  deficient  in  certain 
qualities  inherent  in  the  Clay  family.  It 
certainly  would  be  a  kind  of  mesalliance. 

Left  to  herself,  Salomy  Jane  stared  a  long 
while  at  the  coffee-pot,  and  then,  calling 
the  two  squaws  to  clear  away  the  things, 
she  went  up  to  her  own  room  to  make  her 
bed.  Here  she  was  confronted  with  a  pos 
sible  prospect  of  that  proverbial  bed  she 
might  be  making  in  her  willfulness,  and  on 
which  she  must  lie,  in  the  photograph  of  a 
somewhat  ordinary  young  man  of  weak 
features  —  Reuben  Waters  —  stuck  in  her 
window-frame.  Good  Lordy!  Fancy  Reu 
ben  hearing  that  the  feller  was  alive  and 
going  round  with  that  kiss  of  hers  set  on  his 
lips!  He  had  returned  it  like  a  man,  hold 
ing  her  tight  and  almost  breathless,  and 
he  going  to  be  hung  the  next  minute!  Sa 
lomy  Jane  had  been  kissed  at  other  times, 
by  force,  chance,  or  stratagem.  In  a  cer 
tain  ingenuous  forfeit  game  of  the  local- 


SALOMY'S  REFLECTIONS     139 

ity  known  as  "I'm  a-pinin',"  many  had 
"pined"  for  a  "sweet  kiss"  from  Salomy 
Jane,  which  she  had  yielded  in  a  sense  of 
honor  and  fair  play.  She  had  never  been 
kissed  like  this  before  —  she  would  never 
again ;  and  yet  the  man  was  alive !  And  be 
hold,  she  could  see  in  the  mirror  that  she 
was  blushing! 

She  should  hardly  know  him  again.  A 
young  man  with  very  bright  eyes,  a  flushed 
and  sunburnt  cheek,  a  kind  of  fixed  look  in 
the  face,  and  no  beard;  no,  none  that  she 
could  feel.  She  turned  suddenly  and  tore 
Reuben's  picture  to  shreds.  What  a  sneak 
he  had  been!  Too  weak  to  carry  out  her 
wl  \  he  had,  nevertheless,  sought  to  claim 
his  reward.  And  to  think  she  did  not  even 
know  this  other  young  man's  name !  That 
was  queer.  To  be  kissed  by  a  man  whom 
she  might  never  know!  Of  course  he  knew 
hers.  She  wondered  if  he  remembered  it  and 
her.  But  of  course  he  was  so  glad  to  get  off 
with  his  life  that  he  never  thought  of  any- 


i4o        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

thing  else.  Yet  she  did  not  give  more  than 
four  or  five  minutes  to  these  speculations, 
and,  like  a  sensible  girl,  thought  of  some 
thing  else.  Once  again,  however,  in  opening 
the  closet,  she  found  the  brown  holland 
gown  she  had  worn  on  the  day  before; 
thought  it  very  unbecoming,  and  regretted 
that  she  had  not  worn  her  best  gown  on 
her  visit  to  Red  Pete's  cottage.  On  such 
an  occasion  she  really  might  have  been  more 
impressive. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   KISS   REPEATED 

WHEN  her  father  came  home  that  night 
she  asked  him  the  news.  No,  they  had  not 
captured  the  fugitive,  who  was  still  at  large. 
Red  Pete's  body  had  been  delivered  to  his 
widow.  Perhaps  it  would  only  be  neigh 
borly  for  Salomy  Jane  to  ride  over  to  the 
funeral.  But  Salomy  Jane  did  not  take  to 
the  suggestion  kindly,  nor  yet  did  she  ex 
plain  to  her  father  that,  as  the  other  man 
was  still  living,  she  did  not  care  to  undergo 
a  second  disciplining  at  the  widow's  hands. 
Nevertheless,  she  contrasted  her  situation 
with  that  of  the  widow  with  a  new  and  sin 
gular  satisfaction.  It  might  have  been  Red 
Pete  who  had  escaped.  But  he  had  not  the 
grit  of  the  nameless  one.  She  had  already 
settled  his  heroic  quality. 

"Ye   ain't   harkenin'   to  me,   Salomy." 

Salomy  Jane  started. 


142        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"  Here  I  'm  askin'  ye  if  ye  Ve  seen  that 
hound  Phil  Larrabee  sneaking  by  yer  to 
day?" 

Salomy  Jane  had  not.  But  she  became 
interested  and  self-reproachful. 

"  He  would  n't  dare  to  go  by  here  un 
less  he  knew  you  were  out,"  she  said 
quickly. 

''That's  what  gets  me,"  he  said,  scratch 
ing  his  grizzled  head.  "I've  been  kind  o' 
thinkin'  o'  him  all  day,  and  one  of  them 
Chinamen  said  he  saw  him  at  Sawyer's 
Crossing.  He  was  a  kind  of  friend  o'  Pete's 
wife.  That's  why  I  thought  yer  might  find 
out  ef  he'd  been  there."  Salomy  Jane  grew 
more  self-reproachful  at  her  father's  self- 
interest  in  her  "neighborliness."  "But  that 
ain't  all,"  continued  Mr.  Clay.  "Thar  was 
tracks  over  the  far  pasture  that  warn't 
mine.  I  followed  them,  and  they  went 
round  and  round  the  house  two  or  three 
times,  ez  ef  they  mout  hev  bin  prowlin', 
and  then  I  lost  'em  in  the  woods  again. 


'YOU   JUST   LIE    LOW,   DAD,   FOR   A   DAY  OR  TWO" 


THE  KISS  REPEATED        143 

It's  just  like  that  sneakin'  hound  Larra- 
bee  to  hev  bin  lyin'  in  wait  for  me  and 
afraid  to  meet  a  man  fair  and  square  in 
the  open." 

"You  just  lie  low,  Dad,  for  a  day  or  two 
more,  and  let  me  do  a  little  prowlin',"  said 
the  girl,  with  sympathetic  indignation  in 
her  dark  eyes.  "Ef  it's  that  skunk,  I'll 
spot  him  soon  enough  and  let  you  know 
whar  he's  hiding." 

"You'll  just  stay  where  ye  are,  Salomy," 
said  her  father  decisively.  "This  ain't  no 
woman's  work  —  though  I  ain't  sayin'  you 
have  n't  got  more  head  for  it  than  some 
men  I  know." 

Nevertheless,  that  night,  after  her  father 
had  gone  to  bed,  Salomy  Jane  sat  by  the 
open  window  of  the  sitting-room  in  an  ap 
parent  attitude  of  languid  contemplation, 
but  alert  and  intent  of  eye  and  ear.  It  was 
a  fine  moonlit  night.  Two  pines  near  the 
door,  solitary  pickets  of  the  serried  ranks  of 
distant  forest,  cast  long  shadows  like  paths 


144        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

to  the  cottage,  and  sighed  their  spiced 
breath  in  the  windows.  The  moon  added 
a  vague  elusiveness  to  everything,  softened 
the  rigid  outlines  of  the  sheds,  and  gave 
shadows  to  the  lidless  windows.  Salomy 
Jane  was  affected  by  it,  and  exhaled  some 
thing  between  a  sigh  and  a  yawn  with  the 
breath  of  the  pines.  Then  she  suddenly  sat 
upright. 

Her  quick  ear  had  caught  a  faint  "click, 
click,"  in  the  direction  of  the  wood;  her 
quicker  instinct  and  rustic  training  enabled 
her  to  determine  that  it  was  the  ring  of  a 
horse's  shoe  on  flinty  ground;  her  knowl 
edge  of  the  locality  told  her  it  came  from 
the  spot  where  the  trail  passed  over  an  out 
crop  of  flint  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  where  she  sat,  and  within  the  clearing. 
It  was  no  errant  "stock,"  for  the  foot  was 
shod  with  iron ;  it  was  a  mounted  trespasser 
by  night,  and  boded  no  good  to  Clay. 

She  rose,  threw  her  shawl  over  her  head, 
more  for  disguise  than  shelter,  and  passed 


THE  KISS  REPEATED        145 

out  of  the  door.  A  sudden  impulse  made  her 
seize  her  father's  shotgun  from  the  corner 
where  it  stood  —  not  that  she  feared  any 
danger  to  herself,  but  that  it  was  an  excuse. 
She  made  directly  for  the  wood,  keeping  in 
the  shadow  of  the  pines  ,as  long  as  she 
could.  At  the  fringe  she  halted;  whoever 
was  there  must  pass  her  before  reaching 
the  house. 

Then  there  seemed  to  be  a  suspense  of  all 
nature.  Everything  was  deadly  still  —  even 
the  moonbeams  appeared  no  longer  trem 
ulous;  soon  there  was  a  rustle  as  of  some 
stealthy  animal  among  the  ferns,  and  then 
a  dismounted  man  stepped  into  the  moon 
light.  It  was  the  stranger  —  the  man  she 
had  kissed! 

For  a  wild  moment  a  strange  fancy  seized 
her  usually  sane  intellect  and  stirred  her 
temperate  blood.  The  news  they  had  told 
her  was  not  true ;  he  had  been  hung,  and  this 
was  his  ghost!  He  looked  as  white  and 
spiritlike  in  the  moonlight,  dressed  in  the 


146        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

same  clothes,  as  when  she  saw  him  last.  He 
had  evidently  seen  her  approaching,  and 
moved  quickly  to  meet  her.  But  in  his 
haste  he  stumbled  slightly;  she  reflected 
suddenly  that  ghosts  did  not  stumble,  and  a 
feeling  of  relief  came  over  her.  And  it  was 
no  assassin  of  her  father  that  had  been 
prowling  around  —  only  this  unhappy  fugi 
tive.  A  momentary  color  came  into  her 
cheek;  her  coolness  and  hardihood  returned ; 
it  was  with  a  tinge  of  sauciness  in  her  voice 
that  she  said :  — 

"I  reckoned  you  were  a  ghost." 
"I  might  have  been,"  he  said,  looking  at 
her  fixedly;  "but  I'd  have  come  back  here 
all  the  same." 

"It's  a  little  riskier  comin'  back  alive," 
she  said,  with  a  levity  that  died  on  her  lips, 
for  a  singular  nervousness,  half  fear  and 
half  expectation,  was  beginning  to  take  the 
place  of  her  relief  of  a  moment  ago.  "Then 
it  was  you  who  was  prowlin'  round  and 
makin'  tracks  in  the  far  pasture  ? " 


THE  KISS  REPEATED        147 

"Yes;  I  came  straight  here  when  I  got 
away." 

She  felt  his  eyes  were  burning  her,  but 
did  not  dare  to  raise  her  own.    "Why- 
she  began,  hesitated,  and  ended  vaguely. 
" 'How  did  you  get  here?" 

"You  helped  me!" 

"I?" 

"Yes.  That  kiss  you  gave  me  put  life 
into  me  —  gave  me  strength  to  get  away. 
I  swore  to  myself  I  'd  come  back  and  thank 
you,  alive  or  dead." 

Every  word  he  said  she  could  have  an 
ticipated,  so  plain  the  situation  seemed  to 
her  now.  And  every  word  he  said  she  knew 
was  the  truth.  Yet  her  cool  common  sense 
struggled  against  it. 

"What 's  the  use  of  your  escaping,  ef 
you're  comin'  back  here  to  be  ketched 
again?"  she  said  pertly. 

He  drew  a  little  nearer  to  her,  but  seemed 
to  her  the  more  awkward  as  she  resumed  her 
self-possession.  His  voice,  too,  was  broken, 


148        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

as  if  by  exhaustion,  as  he  said,  catching  his 
breath  at  intervals :  - 

"I'll  tell  you.  You  did  more  for  me  than 
you  think.  You  made  another  man  o'  me. 
I  never  had  a  man,  woman,  or  child  do  to 
me  what  you  did.  I  have  n't  a  friend  this 
side  of  the  Rockies  —  only  chance  pals.  I 
want  to  do  the  square  thing  to  you  — "  He 
stopped,  breathed  hard,  and  then  said  brok 
enly,  "My  horse  is  over  there  staked  out. 
I  want  to  give  him  to  you.  He's  worth  a 
lot  of  money.  Take  him,  and  I  '11  get  away 
afoot.  Take  him.  It 's  the  only  thing  I  can 
do  for  you,  and  I  know  it  does  n't  half  pay 
for  what  you  did.  Take  it ;  your  father  can 
get  the  money  for  you,  if  you  can't." 

"I  don't  want  your  hoss,  though  I 
reckon  Dad  might;  but  you're  just  starv- 
in'.  I'll  get  sutthin'."  She  turned  toward 
the  house. 

"Say  you'll  take  the  horse  first,"  he  said, 
grasping  her  hand. 

At  the  touch  she  felt  herself  coloring  and 


THE  KISS  REPEATED        149 

struggled,  expecting  perhaps  another  kiss. 
But  he  dropped  her  hand. 

She  turned  again  with  a  saucy  gesture, 
said,  "Hoi'  on;  I'll  come  right  back/'  and 
slipped  away,  the  mere  shadow  of  a  coy  and 
flying  nymph  in  the  moonlight,  until  she 
reached  the  house. 

Here  she  not  only  procured  food  and 
whiskey,  but  added  a  long  dust-coat  and  hat 
of  her  father's  to  her  burden.  They  would 
serve  as  a  disguise  for  him  and  hide  that 
heroic  figure,  which  she  thought  everybody 
must  now  know  as  she  did.  Then  she  re 
joined  him  breathlessly.  But  he  put  the 
food  and  whiskey  aside. 

"Listen,"  he  said;  "I've  turned  the  horse 
into  your  corral.  You'll  find  him  there  in 
the  morning,  and  no  one  will  know  but 
that  he  got  lost  and  joined  the  other 
horses." 

Then  she  burst  out.  "  But  you  —  you  — 
what  will  become  of  you?  You'll  be 
ketched  !" 


150        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"I'll  manage  to  get  away,"  he  said  in  a 
low  voice,  "if —  if - 

"Ef  what?"  she  said  tremblingly. 

"If  you'll  put  the  heart  in  me  again  - 
as  you  did!"  he  gasped. 

She  tried  to  laugh  —  to  move  away.  She 
could  do  neither.  Suddenly  he  caught  her 
in  his  arms,  with  a  long  kiss,  which  she  re 
turned  again  and  again.  Then  they  stood 
embraced  as  they  had  embraced  the  day 
before,  but  no  longer  the  same.  For  the 
cool,  lazy  Salomy  Jane  had  been  trans 
formed  into  another  woman  —  a  passionate, 
clinging  savage.  Perhaps  something  of  her 
father's  blood  had  surged  within  her  at  that 
supreme  moment.  The  man  stood  erect  and 
determined. 

"Wot 's  your  name?"  she  whispered 
quickly.  It  was  a  woman's  quickest  way 
of  defining  her  feelings. 

"Dart." 

"Yer  first  name?" 

"Jack." 


THE  KISS  REPEATED        151 

"Let  me  go  now,  Jack.  Lie  low  in  the 
woods  till  to-morrow  sunup.  I'll  come 
again." 

He  released  her.  Yet  she  lingered  a  mo 
ment.  "  Put  on  those  things,"  she  said,  with 
a  sudden  happy  flash  of  eyes  and  teeth, 
"and  lie  close  till  I  come."  And  then  she 
sped  away  home. 

But  midway  up  the  distance  she  felt  her 
feet  going  slower,  and  something  at  her 
heartstrings  seemed  to  be  pulling  her  back. 
She  stopped,  turned,  and  glanced  to  where 
he  had  been  standing.  Had  she  seen  him 
then,  she  might  have  returned.  But  he  had 
disappeared.  She  gave  her  first  sigh,  and 
then  ran  quickly  again.  It  must  be  nearly 
ten  o'clock !  It  was  not  very  long  to  morn 
ing! 

She  was  within  a  few  steps  of  her  own 
door,  when  the  sleeping  woods  and  silent 
air  appeared  to  suddenly  awake  with  a 
sharp  "crack!" 

She  stopped,  paralyzed.  Another  "  crack !" 


1 52        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

followed,  that  echoed  over  to  the  far  corral. 
She  recalled  herself  instantly  and  dashed  off 
wildly  to  the  woods  again. 

As  she  ran  she  thought  of  one  thing  only. 
He  had  been  "dogged"  by  one  of  his  old 
pursuers  and  attacked.  But  there  were  two 
shots,  and  he  was  unarmed.  Suddenly  she 
remembered  that  she  had  left  her  father's 
gun  standing  against  the  tree  where  they 
were  talking.  Thank  God!  she  may  again 
have  saved  him.  She  ran  to  the  tree;  the 
gun  was  gone.  She  ran  hither  and  thither, 
dreading  at  every  step  to  fall  upon  his  life 
less  body.  A  new  thought  struck  her;  she 
ran  to  the  corral.  The  horse  was  not  there ! 
He  must  have  been  able  to  regain  it,  and 
escaped,  after  the  shots  had  been  fired.  She 
drew  a  long  breath  of  relief,  but  it  was 
caught  up  in  an  apprehension  of  alarm. 
Her  father,  awakened  from  his  sleep  by  the 
shots,  was  hurriedly  approaching  her. 

"What's  up  now,  Salomy  Jane?"  he 
demanded  excitedly. 


THE  KISS  REPEATED        153 

"Nothin',"  said  the  girl  with  an  effort. 
"Nothin',  at  least,  that  /  can  find."  She 
was  usually  truthful  because  fearless,  and 
a  lie  stuck  in  her  throat;  but  she  was  no 
longer  fearless,  thinking  of  him.  "I  was  n't 
abed;  so  I  ran  out  as  soon  as  I  heard  the 
shots  fired,"  she  answered  in  return  to  his 
curious  gaze. 

"And  you've  hid  my  gun  somewhere 
where  it  can't  be  found,"  he  said  reproach 
fully.  "  Ef  it  was  that  sneak  Larrabee,  and 
he  fired  them  shots  to  lure  me  out,  he  might 
have  potted  me,  without  a  show,  a  dozen 
times  in  the  last  five  minutes." 

She  had  not  thought  since  of  her  father's 
enemy !  It  might,  indeed,  have  been  he  who 
had  attacked  Jack.  But  she  made  a  quick 
point  of  the  suggestion.  "  Run  in,  Dad,  run 
in  and  find  the  gun;  you've  got  no  show 
out  here  without  it."  She  seized  him  by  the 
shoulders  from  behind,  shielding  him  from 
the  woods,  and  hurried  him,  half  expostu 
lating,  half  struggling,  to  the  house. 


154        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

But  there  no  gun  was  to  be  found.  It  was 
strange ;  it  must  have  been  mislaid  in  some 
corner !  Was  he  sure  he  had  not  left  it  in  the 
barn  ?  But  no  matter  now.  The  danger  was 
over ;  the  Larrabee  trick  had  failed ;  he  must 
go  to  bed  now,  and  in  the  morning  they 
would  make  a  search  together.  At  the  same 
time  she  had  inwardly  resolved  to  rise  be 
fore  him  and  make  another  search  of  the 
wood,  and  perhaps  —  fearful  joy  as  she 
recalled  her  promise !  —  find  Jack  alive  and 
well,  awaiting  her! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ANOTHER  ESCAPE 

SALOMY  JANE  slept  little  that  night,  nor 
did  her  father.  But  toward  morning  he  fell 
into  a  tired  man's  slumber  until  the  sun  was 
well  up  the  horizon.  Far  different  was  it 
with  his  daughter:  she  lay  with  her  face  to 
the  window,  her  head  half  lifted  to  catch 
every  sound,  from  the  creaking  of  the  sun- 
warped  shingles  above  her  head  to  the  far- 
off  moan  of  the  rising  wind  in  the  pine  trees. 
Sometimes  she  fell  into  a  breathless,  half- 
ecstatic  trance,  living  over  every  moment 
of  the  stolen  interview ;  feeling  the  fugitive's 
arm  still  around  her,  his  kisses  on  her  lips; 
hearing  his  whispered  voice  in  her  ears- 
the  birth  of  her  new  life !  This  was  followed 
again  by  a  period  of  agonizing  dread  —  that 
he  might  even  then  be  lying,  his  life  ebbing 
away,  in  the  woods,  with  her  name  on  his 


156        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

lips,  and  she  resting  here  inactive,  until  she 
half  started  from  her  bed  to  go  to  his  succor. 
And  this  went  on  until  a  pale  opal  glow  came 
into  the  sky,  followed  by  a  still  paler  pink 
on  the  summit  of  the  white  Sierras,  when 
she  rose  and  hurriedly  began  to  dress.  Still 
so  sanguine  was  her  hope  of  meeting  him, 
that  she  lingered  yet  a  moment  to  select  the 
brown  holland  skirt  and  yellow  sunbonnet 
she  had  worn  when  she  first  saw  him.  And 
she  had  only  seen  him  twice !  Only  twice!  It 
would  be  cruel,  too  cruel,  not  to  see  him 
again ! 

She  crept  softly  down  the  stairs,  listening 
to  the  long-drawn  breathing  of  her  father 
in  his  bedroom,  and  then,  by  the  light  of  a 
guttering  candle,  scrawled  a  note  to  him, 
begging  him  not  to  trust  himself  out  of  the 
house  until  she  returned  from  her  search, 
and  leaving  the  note  open  on  the  table, 
swiftly  ran  out  into  the  growing  day. 

Three  hours  afterwards  Mr.  Madison 
Clay  awoke  to  the  sound  of  loud  knocking. 


ANOTHER  ESCAPE  157 

At  first  this  forced  itself  upon  his  conscious 
ness  as  his  daughter's  regular  morning  sum 
mons,  and  was  responded  to  by  a  grunt  of 
recognition  and  a  nestling  closer  in  the  blan 
kets.  Then  he  awoke  with  a  start  and  a 
muttered  oath,  remembering  the  events  of 
last  night,  and  his  intention  to  get  up  early, 
and  rolled  out  of  bed.  Becoming  aware  by 
this  time  that  the  knocking  was  at  the  outer 
door,  and  hearing  the  shout  of  a  familiar 
voice,  he  hastily  pulled  on  his  boots,  his 
jean  trousers,  and  fastening  a  single  sus 
pender  over  his  shoulder  as  he  clattered 
downstairs,  stood  in  the  lower  room.  The 
door  was  open,  and  waiting  upon  the  thres 
hold  was  Colonel  Starbottle. 

"You  are  a  cool  one,  my  dear  Clay!" 
said  the  latter  in  half-admiring  indignation. 

"What's  up?"  said  the  bewildered  Madi 
son. 

"You  ought  to  be,  and  precious  quick 
about  it,"  said  the  Colonel  grimly.  "It's 
all  very  well  to  'know  nothing,'  my  dear 


158        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

sah,  but  this  Phil  Larrabee  has  just  been 
picked  up,  sah;  drilled  through  with  slugs, 
and  deader  than  a  door  nail.  And  what  is 
more  to  the  point,  his  friends  —  er  —  have 
found  him  on  your  land,  not  ten  minutes' 
walk  from  this  house.  They  are  now  letting 
loose  Larrabee's  two  half-brothers  on  you. 
I  may  also  add,  sah,  that  for  you  to  leave 
these  articles  behind  you  —  er  —  was,  to  say 
the  least,  inexpedient."  The  Colonel  paused 
for  breath;  then  lifting  Madison's  dust- 
coat,  hat,  and  shotgun  from  the  ground 
beside  him  and  spreading  them  before  the 
astonished  man,  Starbottle  went  on. 

"  Luckily  for  you,  sah,  I  picked  them  up 
in  the  woods  comin'  here.  You  have  n't 
more  than  time  to  get  over  the  line  before 
they'll  be  down  on  you.  Hurry,  hurry,  my 
dear  friend.  Don't  stand  there  staring." 

Madison  Clay  had  stared  amazed  and 
bewildered  —  horror-stricken.  The  inci 
dents  of  the  past  night  for  the  first  time 
flashed  upon  him  clearly  —  hopelessly !  The 


ANOTHER  ESCAPE  159 

shot;  his  finding  Salomy  Jane  alone  in  the 
woods;  her  confusion  and  anxiety  to  rid 
herself  of  him;  the  disappearance  of  the 
shotgun ;  and  now  this  new  discovery  of  the 
taking  of  his  hat  and  coat  for  a  disguise! 
She  had  killed  Phil  Larrabee  in  that  dis 
guise,  after  provoking  his  first  harmless 
shot !  She,  his  own  child,  Salomy  Jane,  had 
disgraced  herself  by  a  man's  crime;  had 
disgraced  him  by  usurping  his  right,  and 
taking  a  mean  advantage,  by  deceit,  of  a 
foe! 

"Gimme  that  gun,"  he  said  hoarsely. 

The  Colonel  handed  him  the  gun  in  won 
der  and  slowly  gathering  suspicion.  Madi 
son  examined  nipple  and  muzzle ;  one  barrel 
had  been  discharged.  It  was  true!  The  gun 
dropped  from  his  hand. 

"Look  here,  m'  dear  sah,"  said  Star- 
bottle,  with  a  darkening  face,  "  there 's  bin 
no  foul  play  here.  There's  bin  no  hiring  of 
men,  no  deputy  to  do  this  job,  sah.  You 
did  it  fair  and  square  —  yourself?" 


160        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"Yes,  by  God!"  burst  out  Madison  Clay 
in  a  hoarse  voice.  "Who  says  I  did  n't?" 

Reassured,  yet  believing  that  Madison 
Clay  had  nerved  himself  for  the  act  by  an 
over-draught  of  whiskey,  which  had  af 
fected  his  memory,  Starbottle  said  curtly, 
"Then  wake  up  and  'lite'  out,  if  you  want 
me  to  stand  by  you,  sah,  as  one  Kaintucky 
gentleman  should  by  another." 

"  Go  to  the  corral  and  pick  me  out  a  hoss," 
said  Madison  slowly,  yet  not  without  a  cer 
tain  dignity  of  manner.  "I've  sutthin'  to 
say  to  Salomy  Jane  afore  I  go."  He  was 
holding  her  scribbled  note,  which  he  had 
just  discovered,  in  his  shaking  hand. 

Struck  by  his  friend's  manner,  and  know 
ing  the  dependent  relations  of  father  and 
daughter,  Starbottle  nodded  and  hurried 
away.  Left  to  himself,  Madison  Clay  ran 
his  fingers  through  his  hair,  and  straight 
ened  out  the  paper  on  which  Salomy  Jane 
had  scrawled  her  note,  turned  it  over,  and 
wrote  on  the  back :  — 


ANOTHER  ESCAPE  161 

You  might  have  told  me  you  did  it, 
and  not  leave  your  ole  father  to  find  it  out 
how  you  disgraced  yourself  and  him,  too,  by 
a  low-down,  underhanded,  woman's  trick! 
I  Ve  said  I  done  it,  and  took  the  blame  my 
self,  and  all  the  sneakiness  of  it  that  folks 
suspect.  If  I  get  away  alive  —  and  I  don't 
care  much  which  —  you  need  n't  foller. 
The  house  and  stock  are  yours;  but  you 
ain't  any  longer  the  daughter  of  your  dis 
graced  father,  MADISON  CLAY. 

He  had  scarcely  finished  the  note  when, 
with  a  clatter  of  hoofs  and  a  led  horse,  Star- 
bottle  reappeared  at  the  door  elate  and 
triumphant. 

"You're  in  luck,  I  must  say,  sah,  in  ex- 
tr'ord'nary  luck.  I  found  a  horse  had  got 
away  and  strayed  among  your  stock  in  the 
corral.  Best  piece  of  hoss  flesh  I  Ve  seen 
since  I  left  Kaintucky,  sah.  Take  him  and 
you're  safe;  he  looks  as  if  he  can't  be  out 
run  this  side  of  the  state  line." 


1 62        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"I  ain't  no  hoss-thief,"  said  Madison 
grimly. 

"My  dear  sah,  I  should  be  the  last  per 
son  in  the  world  to  insinuate  such  a  thing. 
But  I  will  say,  that  you  would  be  worse  than 
a  horse  thief  if  you  did  n't  take  him, — you 
would  be  a  fool.  I'm  testimony  that  you 
found  him  among  your  horses.  Now,  sah, 
if  you've  written  to  Salomy  Jane,  come." 

Madison  Clay  no  longer  hesitated.  Salo 
my  Jane  might  return  at  any  moment,  —  it 
would  be  part  of  her  "fool  womanishness," 
-  and  he  was  in  no  mood  to  see  her  before 
a  third  party.  He  laid  the  note  on  the  table, 
gave  a  hurried  glance  around  the  house, 
which  he  grimly  believed  he  was  leaving  for 
ever,  and,  striding  to  the  door,  leaped  on 
the  horse,  and  swept  away  from  the  Colonel. 

But  that  note  lay  for  a  week  undisturbed 
on  the  table  in  full  view  of  the  open  door. 
The  house  was  invaded  by  leaves,  pine 
cones,  birds,  and  squirrels  during  the  hot, 
silent,  empty  days,  and  at  night,  by  shy, 


ANOTHER  ESCAPE  163 

stealthy  creatures,  but  never  again,  day  or 
night,  by  any  of  the  Clay  family.  It  was 
known  in  the  district  that  Clay  had  flown 
across  the  state  line,  his  daughter  was  be 
lieved  to  have  joined  him  the  next  day,  and 
the  house  was  supposed  to  be  locked  up. 
It  lay  off  the  main  road,  and  few  passed  that 
way.  The  starving  cattle  in  the  corral  at 
last  broke  bounds  and  spread  over  the 
woods.  And  one  night  a  stronger  blast  than 
usual  swept  through  the  house,  carried  the 
note  from  the  table  to  the  floor,  where, 
whirled  into  a  crack  in  the  flooring,  it  slowly 
rotted. 

But  though  the  sting  of  her  father's  re 
proach  was  spared  her,  Salomy  Jane  had  no 
need  of  the  letter  to  know  what  had  hap 
pened.  For  as  she  entered  the  woods  in  the 
dim  light  of  that  morning,  she  saw  the  fig 
ure  of  Dart  gliding  from  the  shadow  of  a 
pine  toward  her.  The  unaffected  cry  of  joy 
that  rose  from  her  lips  died  there  as  she 
caught  sight  of  his  face  in  the  open  light. 


1 64        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

"You  are  hurt,"  she  said,  clutching  his 
arm  passionately. 

"No,"  he  said.  "But  I  wouldn't  mind 
that  if—" 

"You're  thinkin'  I  was  afeared  to  come 
back  last  night  when  I  heard  the  shootin', 
but  I  did  come,"  she  went  on  feverishly. 
"I  ran  back  here  when  I  heard  the  two 
shots,  but  you  were  gone.  I  went  to  the 
corral,  but  your  hoss  was  n't  there,  and  I 
thought  you  'd  got  away." 

"I  did  get  away,"  said  Dart  gloomily. 
"I  killed  the  man,  thinking  he  was  hunting 
me,  and  forgetting  I  was  disguised.  He 
thought  I  was  your  father." 

"Yes,"  said  the  girl  joyfully,  "he  was 
after  Dad,  and  you  —  you  killed  him."  She 
again  caught  his  hand  admiringly. 

But  he  did  not  respond.  Possibly  there 
were  points  of  honor  which  he  felt  vaguely 
with  her  father.  "Listen,"  he  said  grimly. 
"Others  think  it  was  your  father  killed  him. 
When  /did  it  —  for  he  fired  at  me  first  — 


ANOTHER  ESCAPE  165 

I  ran  to  the  corral  again  and  took  my  horse, 
thinking  I  might  be  followed.  I  made  a  clear 
circuit  of  the  house,  and  when  I  found  he 
was  the  only  one,  and  no  one  was  following, 
I  came  back  here  and  took  off  my  disguise. 
Then  I  heard  his  friends  find  him  in  the 
wood,  and  I  knew  they  suspected  your 
father.  And  then  another  man  came  through 
the  woods  while  I  was  hiding  and  found  the 
clothes  and  took  them  away."  He  stopped 
and  stared  at  her  gloomily. 

But  all  this  was  unintelligible  to  the  girl. 
"  Dad  would  have  got  the  better  of  him  ef 
you  had  n't,"  she  said  eagerly,  "so  what's 
the  difference?" 

"All  the  same,"  he  said  gloomily,  "I 
must  take  his  place." 

She  did  not  understand,  but  turned  her 
head  to  her  master.  "Then  you'll  go  back 
with  me  and  tell  him  all?"  she  said  obedi 
ently. 

"Yes,"  he  said. 

She  put  her  hand  in  his,  and  they  crept 


1 66        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

out  of  the  wood  together.  She  foresaw  a 
thousand  difficulties,  but,  chiefest  of  all, 
that  he  did  not  love  as  she  did.  She  would 
not  have  taken  these  risks  against  their 
happiness. 

But  alas  for  ethics  and  heroism.  As  they 
were  issuing  from  the  wood  they  heard  the 
sound  of  galloping  hoofs,  and  had  barely 
time  to  hide  themselves  before  Madison 
Clay  swept  past  them,  unseeing,  hatless 
and  coatless,  the  bent  figure  of  a  courageous 
old  man  bowed  by  grief  rather  than  anger. 


CHAPTER  XV 

INTO  THE  FUTURE 

SALOMY  JANE  turned  to  her  lover. 

"They're  arter  Dad  a 'ready." 

"They're  after  us  all,"  Dart  exclaimed 
quickly.  "Come,  we  must  find  a  mount 
and  get  out  of  this,"  he  continued,  taking 
her  arm  and  guiding  her  deftly  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Fowler's  cabin,  for  he  feared  to  re 
turn  to  the  paddock,  although  it  was  some 
distance  from  the  house. 

Now  stopping  to  listen  to  the  oft-recur 
ring  sound  of  galloping  hoofs,  now  hasten 
ing  on  through  the  silent  stretches  of  the 
woods,  they  ran,  stumbling  over  fallen  tim 
ber,  and  tripping  over  vines  and  loosened 
stones.  Coming  to  the  ravine  which  bord 
ered  Clay's  quarter-section,  Dart  gathered 
Salomy  into  his  strong  arms  and,  without 
pausing,  dashed  through  the  running  water, 


1 68        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

waist-deep.  The  crossing  took  only  a  mo 
ment,  but  the  current  was  strong,  and  as 
Dart  tenderly  put  his  charge  down  upon  the 
opposite  bank,  he  was  breathing  hard.  To 
gether  they  ran,  Salomy,  first,  her  unerring 
instinct  for  direction  leading  straight  for  the 
cabin  which  soon  came  into  view,  shaded 
by  the  trees  which  grew  close  to  its  walls, 
for  Fowler  had  never  attempted  to  clear  the 
land  since  his  arrival. 

Beyond  the  hut  was  a  small  enclosure. 
Fortunately  Fowler's  horse  was  there,  qui 
etly  grazing.  No  one  had  given  a  thought 
to  the  animal  since  the  death  of  his  master, 
in  the  excitement  of  the  tragedy  and  of  sub 
sequent  events. 

It  took  but  an  instant  to  find  saddle  and 
bridle,  and  Dart,  mounting  quickly  after 
cinching  the  girth  securely,  lifted  Salomy 
up  behind  him  and  they  were  off  at  full 
gallop. 

With  the  instinct  of  preservation  keenly 
developed  by  the  occurrences  of  the  past  few 


INTO  THE  FUTURE          169 

days,  he  guided  the  nervous  steed  with  un 
erring  skill.  Avoiding  the  roads,  he  wound 
here  and  there  through  seemingly  impass 
able  country,  now  clambering  up  the  rocky 
side  of  a  steep  ravine,  now  picking  his  way 
through  the  brambles  and  fern  which  often 
hid  treacherous  stones  or  covered  hollows  of 
uncertain  depth ;  and  always  Salomy  Jane, 
her  arms  around  her  lover,  clung  securely 
to  the  sweating  gray  flanks  of  the  faithful 
beast,  who  seemed  to  feel  the  full  responsi 
bility  of  his  charge.  Never  a  word  was 
spoken.  The  crackling  of  the  branches 
alone  gave  sign  of  their  passing. 

After  what  seemed  many  hours  of  riding, 
their  way  brought  them  abruptly  to  the  road 
and  Dart  drew  up,  tossing  the  reins  over 
the  drooping  head  of  the  panting  animal, 
and  turned  to  help  Salomy  to  alight  from 
her  uneasy  seat  behind  him.  So  cramped 
were  her  limbs  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
she  was  able  to  stand. 

With  a  glance  up  and  down  the  shaded 


1 7o       SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

road,  he  led  the  horse  some  few  feet  into 
the  underbrush,  with  Salomy  following,  un 
til  they  were  well  protected  from  those 
who  might  chance  to  pass,  and  there  they 
stretched  themselves  at  full  length  in  utter 
exhaustion. 

"Do  you  know  what  this  means,  Sa 
lomy?"  said  Dart,  still  breathing  heavily. 

"  S'  long  as  we're  together,  it  don't  matter 
wot  it  means,"  replied  Salomy,  gazing  at 
her  lover  with  an  admiration  which  shook 
his  whole  being. 

"Listen,  Salomy,"  choked  the  stranger. 
"  It  means  —  it  means  —  we  must  go  on  to 
the  end  alone." 

"  I  ain't  skeered,"  returned  Salomy  with 
a  light  in  her  eyes,  "an'  I'll  go  anywhar 
with  yer." 

"  It  means  —  we  must  marry,"  continued 
Dart,  watching  the  love-light  in  her  eyes  as 
they  burned  into  his  very  being,  and  seizing 
her  two  hands  in  his. 

"Yes,"  she  whispered  obediently,  as  he 


INTO  THE  FUTURE          171 

gathered  her  to  him,  in  a  long,  passionate 
embrace. 

The  sound  of  approaching  horses  caused 
the  lovers  to  spring  apart,  silent  and  tense, 
as  the  riders  passed  at  a  leisurely  trot,  intent 
upon  noting  any  sign  which  should  indicate 
the  direction  which  the  fugitives  had  taken. 
From  a  concealed  position  Dart  watched 
the  cavalcade  of  four  pass  out  of  sight. 

"We  must  get  out  of  this  before  they  be 
gin  to  beat  the  brush,"  he  exclaimed.  "  Bet 
ter  wait  until  they're  out  of  hearing  and 
then  take  to  the  road  in  the  opposite  direc 
tion,  and  make  for  Red  Horse  Gulch,  if 
that's  its  name.'* 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  Salomy,  sensing  dan 
ger  ;  "  let 's  strike  for  the  crossroad  an'  go  ter 
Mother  Brayley's  until  we  kin  find  er  way 
to  git  outer  the  country.  She's  that  loyal, 
she  won't  blab  on  no  one,  leastways  on  no 
one  what's  goin'  ter  marry  me"  she  con 
cluded  with  a  low,  rippling  laugh. 

Dart  willingly  assented,  and  they  mounted 


172        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

once  more,  turning  their  steed  into  the  road, 
and,  with  ears  strained  to  catch  the  slight 
est  sound,  sped  swiftly  along  the  shaded 
glade. 

It  was  a  matter  of  nearly  two  miles  before 
the  road  to  the  Brayley  cabin  led  off  to  the 
right,  and  they  had  traversed,  perhaps,  two 
thirds  of  the  distance,  before  they  heard  the 
clatter  of  hoofs  behind  them.  The  road  now 
chanced  to  run  between  high  banks,  densely 
wooded.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  press 
on,  but  their  mount  was  unequal  to  a  race 
in  his  exhausted  condition,  handicapped  as 
he  was  by  bearing  two  riders,  as  had  long 
been  evident  to  Dart. 

"We're  done  for  unless  we  take  to  the 
woods  on  foot,"  he  whispered  quickly  over 
his  shoulder. 

"No,  no,  wait,"  gasped  Salomy.  "Let's 
try  the  river.  I  know  jest  whar  a  boat  is 
tied.  Keep  on  a  space." 

They  pressed  on,  Salomy  beating  the 
flanks  of  the  exhausted  mare  with  her  bare 


INTO  THE  FUTURE          173 

hand,  while  Dart  drove  his  spurs  until  the 
red  blood,  merging  with  the  sweat,  flowed 
under  the  belly  of  the  poor  beast. 

"Here's  the  place!  Quick,  after  me," 
breathed  Salomy,  sliding  off  without  as 
sistance  and  running  to  a  break  in  the  bank 
which  showed  a  narrow  path;  while  Dart, 
with  a  slap  on  the  mare's  back,  sent  her 
speeding  and  riderless  along  the  road.  As 
they  ran,  pitching  headlong  in  their  flight, 
the  sound  of  the  pursuers'  horses  came  dan 
gerously  near. 

By  good  luck  the  boat,  a  rough  flat-bot 
tomed  affair  was  floating  just  where  Sa 
lomy  had  expected.  It  took  but  a  second 
for  Dart  to  untie  the  rope  from  the  tree  and 
push  off,  Salomy  scrambling  breathlessly 
into  the  stern. 

The  current  ran  fast.  Dart,  unaccus 
tomed  to  navigation  in  any  form,  was 
clumsy  at  the  oars,  first  pulling  to  the  right 
and  then  to  the  left,  unable  to  maintain  a 
straight  course  for  the  opposite  bank.  To 


i74       SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

Salomy  the  slow  progress  of  the  craft  was 
torture  as  she  watched  for  the  approaching 
horsemen.  They  had  covered  but  a  short 
distance  before  a  shout  from  the  bank  pro 
claimed  their  discovery. 

The  shout  was  soon  followed  by  the  report 
of  a  gun. 

"Quick,  quick,"  said  Salomy  hoarsely. 
"They're  comin'." 

The  riders  were  now  urging  their  horses 
into  the  river.  It  was  apparent  that  they 
had  no  intention  of  shooting  the  woman. 
Indeed,  the  shot  fired  was  aimed  high  in 
order  if  possible  to  frighten  the  runaways, 
but  failing  to  alter  their  decision,  the  riders, 
headed  by  Joe  Hall,  the  Sheriff,  forced  the 
horses  into  the  foaming  current. 

The  river  was  deep  and  the  animals  made 
slow  progress  ahead,  for  the  current  carried 
them  downstream,  below  the  boat,  which 
was  now  rapidly  nearing  the  other  side. 

"Salomy,  listen!"  gasped  Dart,  speaking 
between  each  stroke  of  the  oars.  "When  we 


INTO  THE  FUTURE          175 

land,  let  the  boat  swing  clear;  get  in  the 
water  —  close  to  me  —  under  the  bank. 
They'll  think  we've  run  on  —  when  they're 
gone  to  hunt  our  trail  —  we'll  follow  the 
river  —  and  lose  ourselves  downstream." 

"Yes,  yes,  I  understand,"  said  Salomy 
tensely.  "I  ain't  afeared  s'long's  you're 
by,"  she  whispered. 

The  boat  soon  grounded  and  Dart  pulled 
Salomy  into  the  shadows  of  the  birches,  to 
deceive  the  horsemen,  who  were  now  floun 
dering  in  mid-stream  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  below  them,  and  quickly  passing  out  of 
sight  around  a  bend  in  the  river. 

A  few  feet  beyond  the  spot  where  the 
boat  had  grounded,  the  bank  had  fallen 
away  leaving  exposed  the  gnarled  root  of  a 
huge  tree  just  above  the  running  water.  It 
was  this  spot  that  Dart  had  selected,  and, 
with  both  arms  about  Salomy,  he  guided 
her  again  into  the  water  which  came  well 
above  their  waists.  By  bending  slightly, 
they  were  both  able  to  stand  in  the  water 


176        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

almost  completely  hidden  by  the  roots  and 
hanging  moss,  which  draped  itself  upon  the 
underbrush  and  floated  up  and  down  with 
the  vagaries  of  the  current. 

The  clatter  of  hoofs  and  the  panting  of  the 
exhausted  horses  told  that  the  riders  were 
close  at  hand. 

"Thar's  the  boat,"  sounded  Joe  Hall's 
voice,  apparently  right  above  them.  Dart 
could  feel  the  beating  of  Salomy's  heart  as 
she  clung  to  him,  her  head  and  full  bosom 
silhouetted  against  the  shining  waters,  her 
face  pale,  but  without  a  trace  of  fear. 

"They've  probably  tried  to  hide  their 
trail  by  walkin'  in  the  water,"  declared  an 
other  voice.  "  Let 's  follow  up  the  bank  fer  a 
while  afore  we  beat  up  the  brush." 

For  what  seemed  an  eternity  the  lovers 
remained  in  the  chilled  mountain  waters, 
locked  in  each  other's  arms,  fearing  to  speak 
or  scarcely  to  breathe  while  the  hunt  went 
on  about  them.  With  dismay  they  watched 
their  boat  caught  by  a  change  in  the  wind, 


INTO  THE  FUTURE         177 

drift  slowly  downstream,  and  with  the  con 
viction  that  time  must  surely  bring  these 
crafty  woodsmen  to  their  last  refuge,  hope 
slowly  gave  way  to  despair,  until  the  length 
ening  shadows  on  the  waters  told  of  the  set 
ting  sun.  With  night  to  cover  their  escape, 
perhaps  a  chance  remained. 

And  as  they  watched  the  fading  light,  the 
voices  became  but  a  distant  murmur,  until 
the  welcome  silence  started  Dart  into  ac 
tion.  Cautiously  bending  back  the  roots, 
he  half  carried,  half  dragged  Salomy  with 
him  to  a  spot  where  they  could  wade 
ashore. 

"We  must  keep  on,  dear  love,"  he  said, 
with  a  heart  full  of  suffering  for  the  hard 
ships  which  Salomy  bore  with  such  forti 
tude. 

"I'm  all  right.  I'm  cold,  but  I'm  all 
right.  I  '11  foller  yer,  Jack,  to  the  end  o'  the 
earth,"  chattered  Salomy,  her  fine  courage 
undaunted. 

Dart  skirted  the  shore  about  them  until 


1 78        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

he  discovered  a  fallen  tree  which  had  been 
partly  trimmed  of  its  branches  by  some 
chance  woodsman.  By  exerting  all  his 
strength,  Dart  was  able,  with  Salomy's 
help,  to  push  its  huge  bulk  into  the  water. 
It  floated,  solid  and  steady,  prevented  from 
rolling  by  the  stumps  of  its  once  massive 
branches. 

He  turned  to  Salomy,  who  was  watching 
him  with  questioning  yet  trustful  eyes. 

"We  can  float  downstream  on  this  log 
until  we're  out  of  danger,"  he  explained. 
"It's  our  only  chance,  dearest.  Will  you 
take  it?" 

She  turned  toward  him  mutely,  and  he 
lifted  her  onto  the  primitive  craft,  settling 
her  securely  in  a  deep  notch  made  by  two 
great  stumps.  One  final  effort,  and,  as  he 
sprang  to  a  place  beside  her,  the  log  shot 
out  into  the  swift-flowing  stream. 

The  lingering  rays  of  the  sun  glinted  on 
the  smooth,  shining  waters,  as  the  shadow 
of  the  floating  tree,  with  its  precious  burden 


INTO  THE  FUTURE          179 

in  close  embrace,  passed  slowly  into  the 
gray  of  the  evening. 

And  here  I  might,  as  a  moral  romancer, 
pause,  leaving  the  heedless,  passionate  girl 
eloped  with  her  fugitive  lover,  destined  to 
lifelong  shame  and  misery,  misunderstood 
to  the  last  by  a  sorrowing,  fastidious  parent. 
But  I  am  confronted  by  certain  facts,  on 
which  this  romance  is  based.  A  month  later 
a  handbill  was  posted  on  one  of  the  sentinel 
pines,  announcing  that  the  property  would 
be  sold  by  auction  to  the  highest  bidder 
by  Mrs.  John  Dart,  daughter  of  Madison 
Clay,  Esq.,  and  it  was  sold  accordingly. 
Still  later  —  by  ten  years  —  the  chronicler 
of  these  pages  visited  a  certain  "stock"  or 
breeding-farm  in  the  "Blue-Grass  Coun 
try,"  famous  for  the  popular  racers  it  has 
produced.  He  was  told  that  the  owner  was 
the  "best  judge  of  horse-flesh  in  the  coun 
try."  "Small  wonder,"  added  his  inform 
ant,  "for  they  say  as  a  young  man  he  lived 


i8o        SALOMY  JANE'S  KISS 

out  in  California.  Some  say  he  killed  a  man 
and  only  saved  himself  by  eloping  with  some 
rich  farmer's  daughter.  But  he's  a  straight- 
out  and  respectable  man  now,  whose  word 
about  horses  can't  be  bought ;  and  as  for  his 
wife,  she  's  a  beauty!  To  see  her  at  the 
'Springs,'  rigged  out  in  the  latest  fashion, 
you  'd  never  think  she  had  ever  lived  out 
of  New  York  or  was  n't  the  wife  of  one 
of  its  millionaires." 


THE    END 


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